Hitsuzen
by Kaili Mossmallow
Summary: Yuki, a young girl from OUR world, finds herself in the crossover world of xxxHolic and Tsubasa Chronicles, her favorite series of all time. To grant her wish of returning home, she must cross dimensions with Syaoran, Sakura, and the rest. But every wish comes with a price...
1. Introduction

Tsubasa Introduction

Ever since I was small, I believed life would be exciting, like the manga I read. But as I got older, that belief began to falter. No amount of shooting stars could grant my wish. Until that day…

-:-:-

"Ahhh!!!" Yuki screamed as she fell into the pit created by the earthquake. It was dark, except for the stars. She wished as hard as she could to get home. That was when she realized she'd seen this place before. The pit she had fallen into, which was created by an earthquake in the middle of her soccer game, looked exactly like something from her favorite manga of all time: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Yuki knew the story by heart. But it wasn't even finished yet. The final battle hadn't been won or lost. No one except the creators knew how it would end. Of course, that was a comic, a manga. It wasn't real life.

Then why was she in a place that looked exactly like it? Yuki glanced down at herself and noticed that she had an outline. She had become a drawn character. It was the strangest thing, seeing herself drawn out.

After a few moments of ecstasy and joy, she began to wonder where she was traveling to. If this really was Tsubasa, or even xxxHolic, then she would end up in a world with no way of communicating with others or traveling home. As Yuki's mind was wandering, she landed… in front of Yuuko's shop!

It was exactly like the manga. _This is so cool!_ Yuki thought as she walked to the front door.

"Um… are you here to see Yuuko-san?" a voice asked. It was Kimihiro Watanuki, the main character of xxxHolic. He didn't seem quite as tall in person. Yuki took note that his eyes were both blue; that meant she arrived before the spider story arc.

"As a matter of fact, I am," she answered. On the outside, she kept her cool, but on the inside, she was thrilled. She opened the door of Yuuko's shop and paused. "You're probably wondering what my wish is," she said as she stepped inside and Watanuki followed.

"Well, yeah."

"I'll bet you're thinking something along the lines of, 'who in the world would wanna see that lazy drunk?!' or something like that." Watanuki immediately became nervous.

"Who's a lazy drunk?" a beautiful woman stepped into the picture.

"Wow! Yuuko-san! You're even prettier in person!"

"Why thank you, Yuki-chan," Yuuko said. It didn't bother Yuki that this woman knew her name. It wouldn't surprise her if Yuuko knew her wish either. "Are you enjoying this world so far?"

"Yes ma'am!"

Yuuko chuckled, "That's good, because to grant your wish, you'll have to stay like this for quite some time." Yuki became slightly puzzled.

"I assume that means they didn't come yet and I'll be traveling with them."

"Yes."

"Uh, excuse me?" Yuuko and Yuki looked at the very confused Watanuki. "Doesn't anyone want to explain to me what's going on?"

Yuki laughed. "My name is Yuki. I come from a different world. My wish is to return to that world."

"And her price," Yuuko added, "is to not tell anyone what she knows."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Watanuki asked.

"That's for us to know," Yuki began.

"And you to never find out!" Yuuko finished.

Yuki knew that Yuuko meant her knowledge of what would happen in the story. she knew what would happen in the order it would happen. Her price was to not tell anyone this information.

A few days passed. Yuki stayed with Yuuko at her shop, helping Watanuki with his job. She was given a wristband by Yuuko. Anytime she was about to reveal information, it would shock her. The wristband was dark gray with a purple gem on it. Yuuko told her that it was also for communication.

One day, it began to rain. Somehow, Yuki knew that this was it. Her journey would begin. She saw Yuuko standing by the door in her elegant black clothes that showed she was the Witch of Dimensions. Maru and Moro were with her.

"Let's go Yuki-chan," Yuuko said. Yuki nodded and walked toward her. Maru opened the door and the rest of them followed. Yuki was a little reluctant about getting her clothes all wet, but she figured the others (besides Yuuko) were wet too so she shouldn't complain. She wore black shoes, dark jeans, a violet shirt with a black butterfly design, and a large black jacket. Her short black hair was getting soaked, but she didn't mind.

Everyone took their places and waited for the travelers to arrive. Yuki stood next to the beautiful Witch. She could hear Watanuki approaching. As the high school boy reached the shop, the sky deformed and two of the travelers arrived.

They were about Yuki's age, if not, a little older. The boy had brown hair and amber eyes. The girl he was clutching to his chest appeared to be sleeping. Her hair was a nice orange color. Syaoran and Sakura.

Yuuko and the boy, Syaoran, had a conversation. It was one Yuki memorized. It explained why the characters of the manga began to travel in the first place.

As if on cue, the other two travelers arrived. One was dressed in a large white coat. He was tall, with long arms and legs. He carried a staff decorated with blue crystals that matched the color of his eyes. His pale blond hair was wet. His name was Fai D. Fluorite, Yuki's favorite character. The other traveler was named Kurogane. He was dressed in black armor and a black cloak. He had a katana, which Yuki knew was called Ginryuu. His spiky black hair complemented his red eyes. Yuki knew he was strong, and had the same wish as her: to return home.

After the first encounter, which Yuki had already memorized from before, Watanuki came running out with the 2 Mokonas in his arms. One was black and the other was white. The white Mokona would travel with the characters of Tsubasa while the black Mokona would stay and act as a communication device.

"And one more thing," Yuuko said. Yuki realized that this was the part that would change the story drastically. "This girl will be going with you." Yuki walked toward the travelers and took her place. "She knows which world you'll be traveling to, when you'll travel to them, and what you'll do there. But, she is not to tell you any of it. The bracelet on her left wrist will prevent her from doing that. So with that final note, let's begin."

Yuuko drew her magic circle and the white Mokona got ready to swallow us and herself. Just before she did, Yuuko reminded Yuki, "Remember, it's the manga, not the anime."

"I know," Yuki said.

And so her journey began…


	2. HanshinKyouwa

The Country of Hanshin Kyouwa

I was floating in that dark space again, waiting to land. We were heading for the country of Hanshin Kyouwa. It was very similar to Osaka, where my mom was from. The only differences were that everyone was drawn and they all had kudans.

I'm not sure how, but I fell asleep. And when I woke up, I was already indoors. Kurogane and Fai were awake before me. Kurogane was sulking in the corner and Fai was drying Syaoran and Sakura with a towel.

"Puu!" a cute, squeaky voice startled me. It was Mokona. "Yuuko told me that you have lots of secrets!" _It's cuter in real life!_ I thought.

"Yup! I do!" I said, "Why don't you go help him?" I gestured toward Fai, who was still drying Syaoran and Sakura.

"Okie-dokie!" A few minutes passed before Syaoran woke up. I only realized it when he yelled Sakura's name unexpectedly, thinking that something bad had happened to her. Fai reassured that she was okay then introduced himself.

"My name's pretty long, so you can just call me Fai. That girl over there is…"

"Yuki," I said.

"…Yuki-chan," Fai smiled, "and then… what should we call that guy in black…"

"I'M NOT 'THAT GUY IN BLACK!' I'M KUROGANE!!!"

"Kurogane, huh? Why not Kuro-chan or Kuro-rin?"

I watched the scene unfold before my eyes. It was just like the manga, no, better. I got to see what happened between the panels and hear things that weren't mentioned, like Arashi and Sorata's footsteps coming down the hall.

"Yo!" Sorata said energetically, "Did everyone wake up?" His Osaka accent was easy to spot. It was just like my mother's. "The name's Sorata Arisugawa."

"My name is Arashi."

"She's the wife who loves and adores me! My honey!" As Sorata said this, Arashi took the tray from his hand and passed out the cups of tea.

"Here you go," she said to me.

"Thank you, Arashi-san," I said with a smile. Didn't want to be rude. After our various conversations, Sorata took charge.

"You guys sure are lucky."

Fai was puzzled. "Um, exactly how are we lucky?"

"Mokona can't choose which world to go to next, right? I'm saying that you guys are lucky cuz you got to come here first! After all," Sorata said as he opened the large window, "this is Hanshin Kyouwa!"

Suddenly, Sorata pulled out his puppets and began educating us about this country. When it came to the part about kudan, I decided not to say anything and pretend I didn't know anything about them.

That night, Sorata and Arashi let me sleep in their room. I fell asleep quickly, knowing my kudan would appear in my dreams. It was dark everywhere, then I saw a small light. In my dram, I ran toward it. The small light was actually a lion cub with wings. It was identical to Kero-chan from Card Captor Sakura.

"You want to help your comrades, right?" the lion cub asked.

"Yes. But I can't be of much service without giving them information. I can only give them vague warnings," I said.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." With that final remark, the cub flew into my chest. And that was the end of my dream.

When I woke up, Arashi and Sorata were already putting their futons away. I followed their lead and put mine away too. Sorata was saying how lucky he was to have such a loving wife. When we were done, he went to go get breakfast ready.

"Here," Arashi handed me some clothes, "I think these will fit you. Go ahead and change in the bathroom."

"Thank you very much, Arashi-san," I said with a bow. Then I went to get changed. She gave me a light purple blouse and black slacks. She even lent me a pair of matching sandals.

Soon, all of us (except for the sleeping Sakura) were outside. Sorata gave Syaoran a frog-shaped wallet. "That's for your lunch," Sorata explained.

"How come you gave it to the kid?" Kurogane muttered.

"Cuz he seems like the most responsible!" Sorata exclaimed with a thumbs-up.

"WHAT'S _THAT_ SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!" Kurogane shouted.

Fai and Mokona laughed. I also took my fair share of giggles while Syaoran remained silent, not sure how to respond.

After Sorata left for work, the 5 of us wandered around the city. "It's just like my mom's home town," I remarked.

"Your mother lived in a place like this?" Syaoran asked, curious.

"Yeah; the dialect, the layout, it's almost exactly the same!"

"It's interesting how everything's different, but everything's the same, isn't it, Yuki-chan?" Fai said.

"Yes! It is!"

Eventually, we came to a place where a man was selling apples.

"Huh? Is this an apple?" Syaoran asked.

"Yup!" said the man, "It's an apple, all right!"

"Are the one's in your world different, Syaoran-kun?" Fai seemed curious.

"The shape is the same but the color is a paler yellow."

Kurogane decided to jump into the conversation also. "Isn't that _nashi_?"

"No," Syaoran corrected, "_nashi_ are red and somewhat flat at the top."

"But isn't that Laki-fruit?" Fai questioned.

"SO!" the salesman was getting impatient, "Do you want it or not?!"

"Yes, please!" Mokona and I said simultaneously. The salesperson seemed happy; he was able to sell 5 apples. We took the apples to a bridge and ate them. Mokona swallowed hers whole then jumped from Syaoran's head to mine.

"Did you send it to the other Mokona?" I asked.

"Yup! Yup! Yup!"

"Well, I hope he likes it!" Suddenly, there was a loud scream.

"We'll claim this territory this time!!!"

"Here it comes…" I groaned as I watched the crowd flee the site. The two kudan gangs that arrived began to fight. After a few short moments, one of the gangs' leader's, Shogo's, kudan appeared, easily clearing away the other gang. Unfortunately, his actions caused a large sign to fall. Just before it crushed 2 junior high boys (one of whom I knew was actually a kudan), Syaoran rushed in to help them.

"Look out!" he cried. As he shielded them from the falling sign, a large flame burned it to cinders.

"Looks like you have a top rate kudan, too." Shogo pointed out. I took note that his hair looked more brown than silver and he looked younger than in the manga, maybe 18 or 19 years old. "A kudan based on flames. Mine's water and your's is fire. This should be interesting." Te water kudan attacked Syaoran, who deflected it. "My name's Shogo Asagi. What's yours?"

"…Syaoran!"

"I've taken a liking to you," Shogo said. In the distance, I could hear police sirens. Shogo's gang ran away before the police could even get near.

"Here, let me help you up," I said as I lent my hand to the boy Syaoran protected. If I remembered correctly, his name was Masayoshi. It turned out I had remembered correctly. He took all of us to an _okonomiyaki_ shop. This was one of the things I was looking forward to.

I sat next to Syaoran, all the way on the inside. It felt strange, being the only girl (who's human, if I might add, since Mokona's a girl too) surrounded by 4 guys, but I quickly got over it. Masayoshi and I explained what _okonomiyaki_ was. Then we ordered our food and waited. Kurogane was fascinated with _okonomiyaki_; he wouldn't stop staring as it was made and while it was being cooked. It was quite comical actually.

"Kurogane-san, you seem to have a few childish traits. It's kind of cute," I said. He didn't hear me because he was too busy watching the _okonomiyaki_ sizzle in front of him, but Fai did. He chuckled a little.

"Yes, it is cute," he said. The two of us smiled. Then he went back to his conversation with Syaoran and Masayoshi. I just kept watching Kurogane. The way he stared was so cute and funny, just like a little kid. It was even funnier because he was an adult.

I noticed Kurogane was just about to flip the okonomiyaki. _Here comes the yell_. I though. Sure enough, someone yelled, "STOP RIGHT THERE!" It was one of the workers. I recalled his name was Touya and that he was the king in Syaoran's world. Another worker, Yukito, was with him as well.

"Your highness?! And the High Priest?!" Syaoran jumped up. I was just about to say that it wasn't the king or the priest, when my bracelet shocked me for the first time. Guess I wasn't supposed to say anything.

"Your Highness, why are you here?!"

Touya was confused. "Huh? I think you've mistaken me for someone else. My name isn't 'your highness.'" He wasn't rude, just confused. Syaoran was puzzled too.

"Sir," Touya turned to Kurogane as he passed by, "one of us will be the one to flip that over, so please wait a moment and we'll get to you."

"Um, uh, yeah, sure!" Kurogane stammered. Touya and Yukito left to serve the other customers. As they did so, Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane discussed what the witch, Yuuko, had said, that we might see some familiar faces, but they're living a completely different lifestyle. As they held their conversation, I spoke to the very puzzled Masayoshi.

"Don't worry, they're just going over some travel plans," I told him. Masayoshi still seemed a little lost, but he decided to let it go.

Yukito came back to our table and prepared our okonomiyaki for us. Once it was ready, we began to dig in, except for Syaoran. He was lost in thought.

"Yuki-chan," Fai said as he nodded his head toward Syaoran. I took the hint and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Syaoran-kun." As soon as I said his name, he snapped out of it.

"The food's gonna run away if you don't eat now," Fai said kindly. He was attempting to use chopsticks.

"Yeah," Syaoran responded and he began to eat his okonomiyaki.

"Fai-san," I began, "do you need help with your chopsticks?"

"Uh-huh! They're hard to use!"

"Here," I handed Fai the mini spatula often used for eating okonomiyaki. "Use this. It's metal, and it might get hot, so be careful." I grabbed my own and demonstrated with it. "It's good if you put mayonnaise and _furikake_ on it too." I squirted mayo from the prepared bottle and sprinkled _furikake_ then continued eating.

"May-oh-nayzz? Furi-kah-keh?"

"Mayonnaise is kind of like sauce. And furikake is a kind of topping. Trust me, it's good."

"Okie-dokie!"

After we finished eating, Masayoshi, Syaoran, and Mokona went to go pay for it. I waited outside with Kurogane and Fai.

"If we come to another world with chopsticks, I'm gonna need to learn how to use em!" Fai exclaimed. I smiled. He didn't know that the next world we were going to was similar to Korea, a place that uses chopsticks.

Syaoran came out with Mokona on his head, followed by Masayoshi.

"That was gooood!" Mokona remarked.

"Mm-hm!" I nodded.

"It sure was!" Fai added breezily.

Syaoran turned to Masayoshi and thanked him. Afterwards, the 5 of us and Mokona walked around the mall where the okonomiyaki shop was located. Masayoshi offered to help us look for the feather. He didn't know what it was, but it was nice that he offered.

"I'll go call my parents! Please wait a minute and I'll be right back!" He dashed off to a payphone.

We stood by a pillar while we waited. Kurogane noticed the window of a toyshop and was staring at the toys inside. I followed him and watched him stare at one of the trains.

"You're kind of like a big kid in a way," I pointed out.

"Shaddup," he replied. We continued to watch to the toys, and despite the noise of the crowd, we could hear Syaoran and Fai's conversation about the kudan in Syaoran's dream.

"The creature that came out earlier was the same one from my dream!" Syaoran said.

Kurogane heard this and jumped into the conversation, slightly raising his voice over his shoulder, "If you're talking about dreams with mysterious creatures in them, then I saw one of those."

"So did I," I added.

"Me, too," Fai said, "I think it was talking to me about something." Kurogane and I walked back to the pillar. About halfway there, a big foot stomped on the ground not too far from us.

"Which one's 'Syaoran?!'" a fat gang leader with a Mohawk demanded. He was followed by a whole bunch of skinny guys, who also donned Mohawks.

"I wonder what they want…" Fai whispered.

"Are you the one who Shogo's 'taken a liking to?!"

"And what if I am?" Fai teased.

Kurogane and I remained silent as Syaoran stepped forward. "I'm Syaoran."

"This kid?! For real?!" the fat Mohawk guy yelled. One of the guys in his gang confirmed this. The fat Mohawk guy tried to convince Syaoran to join his team. Syaoran simply said, "I won't join." The gang leader jumped to conclusions, thinking Syaoran was going to make a new team.

"Um, no, that's not it!" Syaoran tried to explain, but the gang leader wouldn't listen. With a wave of his hand, a large kudan appeared.

"I'm gonna crush you while I still can!" he shrieked.

"It's so big!" Fai and Mokona said in unison. Syaoran tried to explain further, but the kudan whipped its tail toward him. Unfortunately for the pillar, it was cut in half. The mall must have been really sturdy, because the broken pillar didn't affect anything. Even so, people everywhere were running away from the scene. Somehow, I was able to make it toward Fai. According to the manga, it was Kurogane's turn to fight.

"Why not let me be your opponent?" It was more of a demand than a question. A few moments later, Masayoshi came running toward us, calling Syaoran's name to catch his attention.

"Masayoshi-kun," Fai began, "do you know what's happening?"

"That's the team that's after this mall! This is one of Shogo-san's team's territories!"

"I wonder if he's strong…" Fai wondered aloud.

"He has a first-rate kudan! He's average, but his kudan has amazing speed, and…!"

"Why don't you take an attack from my first-rate kudan!" the gang leader shouted, "Kaninabe-Senkai!"

Kurogane was able to dodge a few attacks. I knew he was going to be alright, but I couldn't help but feel worried.

"Kanidouraku!!!" the gang leader announced the name of the next attack. This one was very powerful and sent Kurogane flying. He was nearly buried by rubble.

"If only I had a katana…" I heard him say. As if on cue, a large water dragon appeared. "What?!" Kurogane seemed startled when he saw it. "You're the one from my dream!" The dragon formed itself into a sword. "Are you telling me to use you? Heh! Seems like your blood's boiling too." With a single move, Kurogane defeated the gang leader. The members of his team rushed in to help him.

"Y-you… already made a team! You're on Syaoran's team, aren't you?!" Kurogane made it clear that wasn't a part of any team and that the only person he would serve was Princess Tomoyo. Soon after, the gang ran away with their tails between their legs.

"That was amazing, Kurogane-san!" I exclaimed as he returned to our group.

"See," he said as he ruffled my hair, "not so much of a kid, am I?"

"Are you okay?!" Syaoran asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Masayoshi seemed worried about something. When I asked him what was wrong, he said, "I-I think we should go, the police will probably come and they might arrest you guys for damaging the mall. You won't be able to find what you're looking for if you're in jail."

"Good point," I said.

"Then why don't we just go home for today then," Fai remarked.

"Are you sure?" Masayoshi seemed to feel like he wasn't of much help.

"Of course!" I said reassuringly. In the manga, he would be the one to find us anyway.

"Well, I guess I'll… go home… then."

"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow!" I said.

"Bye!" he called over his shoulder as he rushed home.

Fai, Mokona, Syaoran, and I all waved as he disappeared from our sight.

"So," I began, "now we have to find Sorata-san and Arashi-san's apartment. Does anyone remember where it is?"

Syaoran raised his hand. "I do!" He led us back to the apartment with ease. "My father was an archaeologist," he explained, "and he taught me how to remember paths to places."

"So I guess that means you have a great sense of direction. I don't. I get lost even when I'm not moving." Syaoran chuckled. I was glad that I had been able to make him smile.

Sure enough, Syaoran led us to the apartment. "We're back!" he announced as he opened the door so whoever was inside would know that they've returned.

"We're back!" Fai and Mokona repeated.

"We're back," I said also. Kurogane stayed quiet and didn't say anything. I elbowed him and the gut and he muttered softly, "we're home…"

Arashi welcomed us back and asked if they found out anything about Sakura's feather. Syaoran replied that they had.

"Hey! Everyone's here! How did it go?" Sorata said as he came into the room. "OH! But before that… Honey! Give me a welcome-home-kiss!" He pointed to his cheek saying, "right here!"

Arashi made an angry fist and punched him in the head. A large bump appeared and Arashi told him that it wasn't the time. She let Syaoran explain what they had found. He told Sorata that Mokona had sensed the feather, but it disappeared. Afterwards, they had a conversation about how the god of the country took the form of kudan and protected every individual. Then Arashi changed the subject back to Sakura's feather.

"If it's disappearing and reappearing, perhaps it's being held in some sort of vessel." She suggested.

"Do you mean… a kudan?" Syaoran questioned.

"It's true that kudan come and go, so that would make sense," Fai said to himself.

"And if a kudan disappears, then its presence would disappear too, making it impossible to sense," Kurogane added.

"Sakura's feather," Syaoran whispered, "is inside a kudan."

"Don't worry," I patted his back, "we'll find it." It's actually inside Masayoshi-kun's kudan. I wish I could tell you, but that would change the flow of events.

"But we can't tell whose kudan it is!" Fai continued.

"Well, it's gonna hafta be a pretty darn strong kudan." Sorata told us.

"How do you know?!" Kurogane asked.

Arashi answered for her husband," Sakura-san's feathers are very powerful; therefore, they would need to be contained in something that could rival its power.

"A kudan is a reflection of a person's heart. If a kudan is strong, then so is the person."

"So… it seems like our goal for now is to find someone with a strong kudan in order to find Sakura-chan's feathers," Fai summarized.

"You guys do that!" Sorata said as he stood up. "Meanwhile, I'll be making dinner. Kurogane and Fai and Yuki-chan, you'll be helping."

"Okay," Fai and I said. We were willing to help out. Kurogane on the other hand…

"Why me?!" he demanded as Sorata and Arashi led us to the kitchen. Mokona accompanied us. Syaoran was about to come too, but Sorata let him stay with Sakura.

Once we all arrived in the kitchen, Arashi asked me to wash and cook the rice. Everyone was given a job. Fai was to cut the vegetables, Kurogane was to cook the noodles, and Mokona was to make sure Kurogane didn't mess up. After I finished with the rice, I helped Kurogane with the stove. Sorata and Arashi were busy preparing the meat and sauces. Their kitchen was large and easy to work in.

Soon, everyone was finished with their jobs and all we were waiting for was the rice. When it was done, Arashi scooped some into 7 bowls. We carried the plates of food to the table. I noticed Mokona carrying chopsticks.

"Um, Sorata-san?" I asked.

"Hm? Need something?"

"Well, Fai-san isn't very good with chopsticks. Do you have a fork he could use?"

"Yeah! Of course!" He went to one of the drawers in the kitchen. He pulled out a fork and ruffled my hair as he handed it to me. "Here ya go!"

I thanked him and went to the table. "Fai-san, I got a fork for you. I know you're not exactly the best at chopsticks, so I asked Sorata-san for one." I gave him the fork.

"Thank you, Yuki-chan," Fai said as he ruffled my hair.

"You're welcome." I noticed that people seemed to like ruffling my hair, particularly tall adult males. (*cough* Fai *cough cough* Kurogane *cough *Sorata *cough cough*)

"Yuki-san," Arashi called, "could you please call Syaoran-san?"

"Sure." I went to the room he was in. The door was slightly opened. I peeked in and saw him watching Sakura as she slept, gripping her hand. I knocked on the door and poked my head into the room. "Syaoran-kun, dinner's ready."

"Huh? Oh, okay, I'll be right there." I smiled at him then left. Halfway to the dining room, I heard Syaoran slowly get up. I waited for him and held the door for him as well.

"Thank you," he said with a smile.

"No problem!" When we entered the room, Mokona jumped. Syaoran easily caught her.

"I hope you like tonight's dinner! We all helped make it!" Mokona said to him. He looked at the table and saw all the food.

"It sure looks good!" he commented.

"Really?"

"Really."

By then, I was already seated. I gestured to an empty chair across from me. "Sit down," I said. When he did, I decided to tease Kurogane a little. "Kurogane-san made the noodles…" then together with Fai and Mokona, "aww by himsewf!" we said childishly.

"I'm not a kid!" Kurogane growled.

"Are you sure, Kuro-tan?" Fai asked jokingly.

"Stop giving me nicknames like that!" Everyone at the table laughed at Kurogane's reaction to teasing.

"Oh! By the way Yuki-chan," Sorata began, "why do you always wear that bracelet?" He pointed to my hand, which was holding the bowl of rice I was eating from. I set the bowl down and held up my wrist.

"This bracelet is part of my 'price.'" I explained, "I know about the worlds we'll travel to, when we'll get there, and what'll happen. If I say anything about what I know, this bracelet shocks me, and I keep my mouth shut. This gem is supposed to be a way of communicating with Yuuko-san."

"You said you knew what will happen in each world," Syaoran pointed out, "do you by any chance know where the feather is?" I told him that I did, but couldn't tell anyone.

"It's… much closer than you think," I offered, "I'm sorry that I can't be of any use to you." Then I added, "But if I told you where all the feathers were and how to get them, you would miss crucial information and great experiences that you can never get back. Technically, I'm not supposed to be traveling with you either. My very presence changes the story drastically. In my world, you're…" I never got to finish the sentence. The bracelet on my left wrist shocked me. It was so powerful; zaps of electricity (if that's what it was) could be seen all over my body. It only lasted for about a second, but it left the ends of my short hair sizzling and part of my skin was slightly burned. For a moment, there was an awkward silence. Then Kurogane spoke up.

"Isn't anyone going to help her out?" His deep voice made everyone snap out of it. Arashi stood up and told me to follow her. She led me to the bathroom.

"Let's put some medicine on those burns," she said kindly, very much like a mother.

"I-I'm sorry for being such a nuisance," I apologized.

"You're not a nuisance," she stated firmly as she spread medicine on my burns." You're our guest. And in our home, guests are treated like family." She placed a bandage on my cheek and said, "There, all done."

I thanked Arashi and the two of us returned to the dining room, where Kurogane and Fai were speaking to each other rather loudly.

"I was just saying how nice you were to Yuki-chan, Kuro-sama!" Fai teased.

"Stop calling me that!" Kurogane demanded.

"Oh? Then how about Kuro-puu!"

"You…!!!"

I had had enough. It was funny, but this was the wrong time and place. "Hey!!! You two!!!" I yelled as I pointed at them accusingly, "You guys had better behave!!! We're guests here!!!" The two immediately became quiet and sat down nicely. I turned to Arashi and bowed. "I'm very sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it!" Sorata laughed, "It was actually pretty hilarious! I mean, here are these two adults acting like kids, and then there's this little girl telling them to behave, like she was their mom or something! Hahahahaha!" He obviously found it very entertaining. Afterwards, we all finished our dinner then cleaned up. I slept in Sorata and Arashi's room again, and this time, Mokona joined me. It had been a tiring day, so I didn't have any dreams.

The next day, Arashi lent me a pair of blue shorts and a white blouse. I wore the same sandals from the day before. Sorata had already left for work by the time we did.

Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai, Mokona, and I were walking around town again. Kurogane and Fai were talking about the feather when Masayoshi's kudan appeared out of a wall. Everyone was surprised, except me. When the kudan bowed to me, I bowed back. Then we could hear someone running toward us. It was Masayoshi.

"Hi everyone," he panted, out of breath, "Did you find what you were looking for afterwards?"

"Not yet," Syaoran answered sullenly.

"Then I'll help you look for it today!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Besides, today's Sunday! I'm off the who~le day!"

I briefly explained to Fai and Kurogane that Sunday was a day when kids didn't have school.

"You were able to find us pretty quickly," Fai pointed out.

"My kudan can find anyone it's met. It doesn't work if it's too far away though," replied Masayoshi.

"That's very impressive!" Syaoran complimented.

"Oh! Um, that's all it can do really. It's… kind of weak."

Suddenly, a large, bird-like kudan arrived and took Masayoshi and Mokona away. Syaoran yelled their names in alarm as the kudan flew off into the distance, taking the two with it. An envelope floated down and I caught it. It was decorated with musical notes. Inside was a letter saying: I'll be waiting and Hanshin Castle. The letter was also decorated with notes.

"Syaoran!" I said, "Look at this!" I figured we would be able to speak the same language. The letter was written in Japanese and he was able to read it in the manga. Plus, the country he was from was actually future Tokyo. Then again, the manga said that he could _read_ many languages, didn't say much about speaking.

"If we go here…" his voice trailed off. Well, he spoke Japanese; that much was obvious. "Fai-san! Kurogane-san! We think they may have been taken to this castle!" he gestured to the paper as I held it up to the two adults. I knew they had no idea what we were saying.

Kurogane and Fai began to speak gibberish. Actually, it wasn't gibberish, it was their native tongue. The three guys were very confused.

"Yuki-san, do you know what's going on?" Syaoran asked.

"Yup!" I responded. I could hear the three muttering to themselves. They were all wondering what had changed. Then they all realized it was Mokona.

"Syaoran-kun, I speak a little bit of a language that's very similar to Fai-san's. I'll try to get him to understand that we need to go to that castle. You work on Kurogane-san. The language is similar," I told him. He nodded and tried to explain to Kurogane what was going on.

"Fai-san!" I began. He didn't seem to understand what I was saying, even though it was his own name. Then I realized that his language might not use honorifics, so I started again. "F-Fai!" I was able to catch his attention this time by dropping the '-san.' I had taken a summer break French course. The language was very similar to the one Fai was speaking. I was even able to pick out something that sounded like: I don't understand. Thanks to my (very) basic French and several hand gestures, I was able to let Fai know where we were going. "Syaoran-kun, I think Fai-san knows what we're doing," I said, switching back to Japanese.

"Same here with Kurogane-san. Alright, let's go!" With that, Syaoran and I led Fai and Kurogane. We bought a map using the money Sorata gave us and used it to find Hanshin Castle. It took a bus ride _and_ a train ride to get there. I was glad that I had been able to help out with this part. No one knew what a bus or train was, so I led them at that part.

When we rushed out of the station, Syaoran announced that the castle was to the left. We paused for a moment to see if we were able to understand each other. We didn't. I ran toward the castle and the rest of the crew followed. "Look up there!" I shouted as I pointed to the top of the castle.

"Mokona! Masayoshi-kun!" Syaoran called out in worry.

"Wow! Look how high they are!" Fai said.

"They look like they're having fun," noted Kurogane, "at least the white one is." As soon as they spoke, they realized that they all spoke the same language. They figured Mokona was some sort of translation device. "Hey! Does that mean if we're separated again, we won't be able to understand each other?!" Kurogane asked loudly as he and Syaoran began to run.

"Seems like it," Fai answered, following them. I tried to follow too, but I wasn't nearly as fast as them, despite being the fastest person on my soccer team, and I soon fell behind. When I paused to catch my breath, I heard a meow. It was a small lion cub with white wings.

"You're the… one from my dream," I panted. The cub meowed again before it transformed into a full-grown lion, large enough to fit 4 or 5 people on its back. Its wings grew large and it now donned armor. My kudan looked exactly like Kero-chan in Card Captor Sakura. "Will you help me?" I asked. It nodded in response and let me get on its back. Then it spread its wings and began to fly. Before I knew it, we were alongside Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane, who were still running full speed. They slowed down and stopped when they saw me. My kudan landed in front of them.

"Get on!" I instructed, "You might want to hold onto the person in front of you so you don't fall off." Kurogane got on behind me, followed by Fai and Syaoran. Then my kudan began to take flight again. "Kurogane-san, please don't touch me in any weird places," I said in a dark, scary tone. Kurogane immediately became nervous.

"This is much faster than running," I heard Fai say.

I few moments later, we reached the castle. I had my kudan land on a wall-like structure in front of a large crowd. Syaoran got off quickly and ran to the edge, showing the letter to the crowd. "Who was the person who wrote this letter?!" he shouted.

"That was me!" a cute voice called. As I turned around to see who it was, my kudan (who everyone had gotten off of) turned back into a lion cub and flew into my arms.

The person who spoke was a girl about 17 or 18 years old. She had long, thick green hair and a rather… interesting outfit. "Primera-cha~~~~n!!!!" the crowd blared.

"Who the hell is that?" Kurogane asked.

The crowd began to boo him. They were angry with Kurogane for not knowing who Primera was. She was a very popular celebrity and the crowd was made up entirely of loyal fans.

Syaoran demanded Mokona and Masayoshi to be let down. "That," Primera pointed toward Masayoshi, "isn't Syaoran?"

"_I'm_ Syaoran!"

Primera began hitting her assistants with a paper fan. She was upset because they brought her the wrong person. When Syaoran asked for the two to be let down again, she declared that she would only let them down if he fought her. She obviously meant with kudan. As she said this, the crowd of fans began cheering for her.

"Agh! Shaddup!" Kurogane yelled, covering his ears with his hands. My kudan did the same. I could only cover one ear because one hand was carrying my kudan. Meanwhile, Fai offered to go in Syaoran's place.

"Do you know where the stairs are?" Syaoran didn't know how he could get to the top of the castle where the two captives were.

"Nope," Fai answered, "but I think I can get there." Kurogane asked how he would do that. "With a little help from my kudan, of course."

A large, pale green bird with 4 wings appeared behind Fai. The four wings wrapped around him and the bird transformed into a visible green wind. This green wind allowed him to fly.

"No fair!" grumbled Primera. Then she extended her hand and a fancy microphone materialized in it. "Hey, everyone!!!" she said confidently into it. From the microphone, her words came shooting out in big letters. Those letters appeared to have his Fai and exploded, but he emerged from the smoke, unharmed. He and Primera fought. He used his kudan to dodge her words. At one point, she attempted to use tongue-twisters, but she kept getting them wrong.

I simply enjoyed the show. It was harder to see because they were fighting so high up, but it was still better than the manga. Primera changed her microphone into a stand and was finally able to hit Fai, who was protected by his kudan. When she attacked again, he didn't dodge her words; he ran on them.

He had run all the way up to the castle and told her something. I couldn't hear what he said, but I certainly heard (and saw) Primera's words as she accidentally yelled, "I'm so embarrassed!" into the microphone. She hadn't been aiming, so the words hit the top of the castle, where the two 'prisoners' were tied up.

Masayoshi and Mokona began to fall very quickly. "Look out!" Syaoran yelled. I could see Masayoshi's kudan try to protect him as he fell. Then a water kudan caught them. It was Shogo's. I was so busy watching, I hadn't heard him and his gang arrive.

"What the heck are you doing, Primera?" Shogo asked.

Primera, startled, merely said his name. No one but me saw Mokona's eyes grow large or heard her say, "Mekyo!"

Shogo and Primera had quite a lover's quarrel and we all got a little distracted. It was Mokona's calls to Syaoran that made us snap out of it.

"Syaoran, look!" I pointed. I made a point not to tell him when I saw her eyes grow large.

"Mokona! Those eyes!!!" The little creature announced that the feather was nearby, but she couldn't tell where it was. The 4 of us concluded that a kudan was strongest when protecting its master and the only way to tell where the feather was, was to fight. I desperately wanted to tell them that it was Masayoshi's kudan, but I couldn't. Instead, I reminded Syaoran that the feather was "closer than you think."

Shogo stepped forward and apologized for getting Syaoran into trouble because of his words. He also said that he really did mean it. He knew Syaoran's heart was strong. That was why he wanted to battle him with kudan.

"I understand," Syaoran raised his voice, "I'll battle you."

Their battle was intense and dramatic. Much better than the manga. I was able to see the flames for myself and feel the heat on my skin. I could also feel water from Shogo's attacks, which were very powerful. He sent a wave from his kudan, which shook the entire castle. When the water disappeared, Syaoran could be seen being protected by a sphere made up of fire. But Shogo's attack caused part of the castle roof, which was already damaged from Primera's accidental attack. A large piece of rubble was about to crush Masayoshi, Primera, and Mokona, when Masayoshi's kudan appeared and protected them. It was huge, bigger than the castle even.

"There! The feather!" Mokona shrieked, "It's in this kudan!"

"Wow, Yuki-chan," Fai ruffled my hair, "you were right. It was closer than we thought." I felt the fur on my kudan stand up straight. It flew out of my hands and changed back into its grand form. It stayed close, as if to protect me.

"Do you know what's going to happen too?" I asked. It nodded in response.

Masayoshi's kudan began shooting beams of energy from its mouth. It was destroying everything. One of those beams came near us, but my kudan knocked all of us out of the way.

"What're you gonna do?" Kurogane asked Syaoran as we got up.

"I'm going to get Sakura's feather."

"You gonna fight that giant? If you mess up, you're dead."

"I won't die. There's something I still need to do. I can't die yet." Syaoran and Kurogane looked each other in the eye.

"Well," Fai said breezily, "Kuro-pii will help us out over here, so you go ahead."

"Why me?!" Kurogane demanded.

Syaoran smiled. "Here I go." Then he took his kudan and left.

"Be careful!!!" I yelled after him. The following scene was even more intense than the battle between him and Shogo. When Syaoran reached into Masayoshi's kudan, flames burst out and started to burn him. Masayoshi's kudan's fury made the whole place shake. I lost my balance and fell of the wall, but my kudan flew down and caught me. I stayed on it, thinking the air would be safer than the violent ground. "Fai-san! Kurogane-san! I think you should get on, just in case!" The two men nodded and got on my kudan.

"Yuki-chan," Fai tapped my shoulder. He was sitting right behind me. "Can you get us closer so we can help Syaoran-kun?" He seemed very worried.

"I'm sure I can, but this is Syaoran-kun's fight. I don't want to interfere." Fai seemed to understand.

A few moments later, Masayoshi's kudan began to change back into its original form. Syaoran's kudan caught Masayoshi and his kudan as they fell. Shogo's kudan was sprinkling water to put out the flames caused by the beams of energy. And I brought my kudan down to where Syaoran was.

"Sakura's feather," I heard him say softly, "Sakura's memory. I… got one…"

Fai jumped off my kudan and helped Syaoran up. "Come on, we need to get it to Sakura-chan, right?" The two got on my kudan, which I asked to take us back to Sorata and Arashi's house. Syaoran was smiling the whole time.

My kudan stopped in front of the building. Before it even landed, Syaoran was off and running toward the apartment. The rest of us got off too and ran after him. He kicked off his shoes and dashed to the room Sakura was sleeping in. I stayed with Fai and Kurogane, who were standing just outside the door. I watched as Syaoran kneeled down and put the feather back. He gripped her hand as he waited for her to wake up.

"Sakura!" he cried out her name as she opened her eyes. His face was a mixture of hope and worry.

"Who… are you?" Sakura asked. Syaoran's face instantly changed to despair. I took a step into the room, but Fai and Kurogane held me back. Fai held my shoulder firmly. Kurogane gently placed his hand on my head and whispered, "This is _his_ battle." I'm sure we all heard Syaoran's heart shatter into a million pieces. He put on a fake smile and explained the situation to Sakura.

"We're traveling to different worlds to get your memories back."

"Are you by yourself?"

"No. There are others here with us."

"You're… helping me?"

"Yes."

"Even though we don't know each other?" Sakura's question was practically putting salt on his wound.

"…Yes."

Fai then walked into the room with Mokona on his shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Sakura," he said. "My name is Fai D. Fluorite. And this is…"

"Kurogane."

"Ah! My name is Yuki! Nice to meet you!" I introduced myself with false cheer and bowed. As I did so, Syaoran slipped out the door. Mokona stayed with Sakura as Kurogane, Fai, and I went to the window. It was pouring rain. And outside, we could see Syaoran standing all alone outside. We spoke softly to each other.

"I though he was going to cry at that point," Fai said. "Sakura-chan seems to be a very important person to Syaoran-kin, so when she asked who he was, I thought for sure he would cry.

"I wonder if… he's crying right now."

"Who knows," Kurogane grunted.

"Of course he is!" I stated, "If that were me, I'd be bawling until I drowned in my own tears!"

No matter how hard it is, you can't cry. You have to be strong; keep moving forward," Kurogane replied.

"But…!" I began.

"I agree," Fai interrupted, "still, to cry when you need to, I think that's a kind of strength too." We let our kudan materialize near Syaoran, who was being comforted by his own kudan. The wings of Kurogane and Fai's kudan shielded him from the rain. My kudan was in its cub form, curling itself around his feet, trying it's best to comfort him. The three of us could only watch as he stood alone.

"Is he alright?" someone asked. I turned around and saw a rather worried Arashi.

"He's… He'll be fine," I answered.

"I certainly hope so," Arashi said, "Do you mind calling him in? Dinner is already made." I nodded in response. "Kurogane-san, Fai-san, would you please help me set the table?"

"Sure," Fai smiled. Kurogane remained silent.

I went to the door and opened it. "Syaoran-kun!" When I called his name, he turned to look at me with blank eyes. His face was wet, but I couldn't tell if it was the rain or his tears. "Syaoran-kun…" He seemed so sad. I slipped on my shoes and went outside. It was still raining. I had no umbrella, so I was starting to get soaked. "Come on, Syaoran-kun. Let's go inside."

"… She didn't know who I was," he whispered softly. I gently pulled him toward the door as he said this. I told him that everything would be okay, but he didn't respond. I wasn't sure whether I should slap him for not pulling himself together or hug him because he needed comfort. So I slapped him first then hugged him. He was very… surprised by my… contradicting actions…

"You need to be strong for Sakura-chan," I said as I released him from my embrace, "You can't pity yourself forever. Worse things are going to happen. I should know, that's what I have this bracelet for. So snap out of it."

Syaoran stared at me for a moment. Then he said, "I'm sorry. I just… I don't know…"

"You were in shock because Sakura-chan didn't remember you," I said for him, "This isn't the end of the world. You have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep moving forward," I lectured. "You're going to be with her in the next world, the world after that, and the world after that. I suggest wearing a smile when you're with her." We were standing by the door now, so I called Arashi's name. Her head popped out of the dining room.

"Yes?"

"May we have a towel to dry ourselves off with before we eat? I don't want to ruin any of your furniture."

"Of course!" she walked across the hall to the bathroom and returned with a few towels. I dried myself off and helped Syaoran with his thick hair. It had soaked up a lot of water. Arashi put another towel on the floor so we could dry our feet.

"Thank you!" I said.

"Thank you, Arashi-san," Syaoran smiled.

"You're very welcome." When we were all dried off, we headed for the dining room.

"Hey! You're back!" Mokona exclaimed, "Look who's with us!"

"It's Sakura-chan!" I announced. I noticed there were two empty seats. On was on the end, next to Sakura. The other was between Fai and Kurogane. I sat in the latter. "I don't want you two to misbehave," I explained. Fai laughed while Kurogane grumbled to himself.

Syaoran apologized for taking so long. No one held it against him. Then we began to eat. It was _nabe_. Fai was having difficulty with chopsticks once again as he tried to grab food from the pot.

"Here, let me," I said as I took the chopsticks from him. I asked him what he wanted and I got it for him. He already had a fork to eat with. I noticed Syaoran was talking to Sakura. Explaining something, no doubt.

I slept in the same room as the other nights. When I woke up, Arashi lent me a very short pink dress (actually, it might have been a long shirt) and jeans to wear underneath. Sakura was still asleep, so we left for the _okonomiyaki_ shop without her. Syaoran had returned to his old self, Masayoshi got to join Shogo's team, and Kurogane got to buy a Maganyan magazine. All was well.

By the time we returned to the apartment, Sakura was already dressed in her clothes. The rest of us changed into our own clothes too and met up outside.

"Ya hafta go already?" Sorata complained.

"Yes," Syaoran answered.

"But you didn't get to eat all of our lovey-dovey combo cooking!" No one was really listening to him.

Fai noticed that Sakura was slightly dazed. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm just… a little sleepy," she said as she rubbed her eyes.

I was standing next to Kurogane and saw Syaoran's painful expression as he gazed at Sakura.

"Don't dwell on the past," Kurogane advised, "if there's something you need to do, just keep looking forward."

"…Right," Syaoran said.

"And smile!" I added, "Don't so grim like this guy!" I pointed at Kurogane, who ruffled my hair so violently it was practically a rat's nest.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?!" he demanded.

"Fai-sa~n!" I whimpered, "Look what Kuro-tan did to my hair!" Fai saw that I was faking and began to tease Kurogane with me.

"My, my, Kuro-sama!" Fai gasped in mock horror as he began fixing my hair, "I thought you knew better than that!"

"Fai-san, I think Kuro-rin needs to be punished."

"Yes, I think he does." Then the both of us stared at Kurogane with shiny eyes and evil expressions. We shared a dark, mysterious (and evil) chuckle. Kurogane was getting nervous and we found that very entertaining.

Then a bright light shone behind us. It was Mokona, getting ready to travel to the next world. I removed the last of the tangles in my hair and took my place.

"Thank you very, very much," Syaoran said gratefully.

"No prob!" Sorata replied, "Don't worry about it!"

"May you find another feather in the next world," Arashi prayed.

I waved good-bye as Mokona swallowed us, taking us to the next world.


	3. Koryo

The Country of Koryo

**Thank you to the people who have read this story so far. It's going to be really, really long... Sorry...**

**Well, I forgot to say a whole bunch of stuff in previous chapters, so i'll say them now...**

**This whole story is based on a dream I had during my 8th grade summer. I was reading Tsubasa manga before i went to bed and had a dream where i got to travel with the Tsubasa cast. So that means my OC, Yuki, is based on yours truly, xxxKairi-chan. I changed several things about Yuki: she's small, not tall like I am; has short hair, not long like i have; has violet eyes, not brown like i have; she's pure Japanese, not just half like I am; she's relatively athletic, whereas I'm not... Basically, she's my would-be self... (for those of you who know what Shugo Chara is, yes, Yuki is my would-be self.)**

**Here's the summary for this chapter: Yuki travels to Koryo with the Tsubasa cast... what else is there to say... **

**So with out further ado, let's begin!**

I was back in the dark, traveling to another world. When I looked back, I was my lion cub kudan waving good-bye as it fluttered in the air. _Thank you._ I thought. Then I looked straight forward. In the distance, I could see people appearing. I crash landed on top of Kurogane in this new world.

"See," I grunted, "I _told_ you that you needed to be punished."

"Just get off," he grumbled. I obliged. "Ugh. Where are we now?"

Fai sat up and looked around. There were many men in defensive positions with staffs in their hands. They were frightened by us; after all, we fell from the sky. "Wow! Everyone's staring at us!" he said as Mokona's wings disappeared.

"I'm the center of attention!" she squealed.

A large, thuggish man stepped forward. "Who the hell are they?!" he demanded, "And where the hell did they come from?!" The thug roughly grabbed Sakura's arm. Syaoran instinctively kicked him hard in the face. Everyone was surprised. As the thug landed, Syaoran crouched defensively in front of Sakura. "Hey!! Do you have any idea who you just kicked?!"

The thug was just about to command his guards to attack us, when a young voice shouted, "CUT IT OUT!!!" Standing on a nearby rooftop, was a girl about 10 years old. Her long, black hair was tied up in a ponytail. "Don't go around bullying people, you stupid son!" she yelled.

"Chu'nyan!" the thug cried, "Who are you calling a 'stupid son?!'"

"Huh? Is there anyone here more stupid than you?" Chu'nyan mocked.

One of the guards stepped forward. "How dare you speak to the son of the Ryan Ban, the ruler, of our village that way?" After a few more exchanges between the men and the girl, the thug and his guards ran away. I stood up and dusted myself off. Then I began to help Syaoran. We had landed in the middle of a marketplace; the merchandise (which happened to be dragon-fruit and potatoes) went rolling everywhere.

"Come on!" Fai waved, "Kuro-pin, you help too!"

"Ugh!" Kurogane stomped, "Why me?!"

I whipped my head in his direction. "Did I hear a complaint?" I said darkly. He became nervous and helped quietly.

As we stacked the crates and put the merchandise back, Chu'nyan stared for a moment. "You're dressed weird!" she said in a loud voice. Fai took it as a joke and pointed at Kurogane.

"Haha!" he laughed, "She said you're dressed weird!"

"If I'm dressed weird then so are you!" Kurogane shouted.

"You two," I scolded, "stop fighting!"

"Okie-dokie!" Fai smiled.

Chu'nyan suddenly gasped. "You guys! Could you be…?!" She grabbed Sakura's hand. "Come!" Then she dashed off, dragging a sleepy and confused Sakura with her.

"Ah!" Syaoran was startled. "P-please wait!" But Chu'nyan wouldn't wait. Syaoran ran after them with Mokona on his head. I quickly bowed to the owner of the store we crashed into and apologized. Then I ran after Kurogane and Syaoran. Fai soon followed (he had to get his staff).

Chu'nyan led us to her house. She told us to make ourselves at home. Syaoran and Sakura sat in front of Chu'nyan on top of some mats she had pulled out. Fai was looking around and Kurogane took his place in the corner. Like Fai, I was looking around, but when I saw Kurogane pull out the magazine I helped him buy in Hanshin-Kyouwa, I walked over to him. I read over his shoulder, listening to Chu'nyan's conversation with Syaoran and Sakura. She was explaining what the Amen'osa were. Fai jumped into the conversation.

"Did you think we were the Amen'osa? Um…" he didn't catch her name.

"Chu'nyan."

"Chu'nyan-chan, huh? I'm Fai. And that's Syaoran-kun. That's Sakura-chan."

"I'm Yuki," I said, "and…"

"That's Kuro-puu!" Fai and I said simultaneously.

"It's Kurogane!!" he shouted angrily.

Fai turned back to Chu'nyan. "So the ruler of this town is so bad you want the Amen'osa to come?"

"Yes! He's the worst!" Chu'nyan wore a pained expression, "My mother… he…" A loud sound cut her off.

"Is that the wind?" Fai asked as he stood up. I motioned for Mokona to come close to me. I held onto her tightly, bracing myself.

"Don't go outside!!!" Chu'nyan cried. As soon as she said that, the window flew open. The wind was actually a tornado. It decapitated the roof and part of the wall in a flurry. Soon, it was over.

"That wasn't a regular wind," Fai said, "was it?"

"It was the Ryan Ban!" Chu'nyan grit her teeth. Then she threw her head to the sky and shrieked, "THIS IS ALL HIS FAULT!!!!"

After we gathered ourselves together, I offered to help fix her roof. Fai also agreed.

"Kuro-pyon will help too," he volunteered the armored ninja against his will.

"You should take Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, and Mokona around town." I told Chu'nyan, who simply asked why. "You might find something interesting," I hinted. I was reffering to Sakura's unbelievable luck.

"Fine," Chu'nyan agreed. "You guys, come with me." She led the three out the door and towards the town.

After I waved good-bye, I turned to Fai and Kurogane. "Let's get started!" I smiled. Back in Japan, my home world, I had helped my dad build our house, so helping with the roof wouldn't be so bad.

The wall was fine, but the door and the window weren't. The wooden window was shattered and the door, which was similar to a Japanese paper door, had a large hole in it. I helped Fai with the window while Kurogane worked on the door in solitude. When we were done, we began to work on the roof. Fai helped me climb to the top, since there was no ladder. Kurogane didn't accept anyone's help.

"Fai-san," I called down into the house through the hole in the roof, "stay down there and pass us the planks of wood!"

"O~ka~y!"

Kurogane and I used my jacket to hold the nails. Luckily, there were two hammers, so we were both able to work. I noticed that every time Kurogane hammered, he grumbled.

"Why… do I… have to… fix… some stranger's… house!"

"Stop complaining," I muttered.

"We're staying here," Fai noted, "so of course we need to help out.

"But…" Kurogane began. I cut him off.

"Chu'nyan's living here all by herself, you know." I was surprised the bracelet didn't shock me when I said this.

"How do you know that?" he asked skeptically.

"My bracelet didn't shock me because you need to know. Chu'nyan didn't say it earlier because I changed the flow of events."

Fai nodded his head in comprehension. "That makes sense."

"Oh, yeah," Kurogane said, "How long are we gonna hafta stay here?"

"Well, that's up to Mokona," Fai answered.

Kurogane suddenly began hammering wildly in anger. "AAAGGGHHH!!!! Dammit!!! Why does that white pork bun always take that kid's side?!?!"

Fai laughed. "Mokona went with Chu'nyan-chan, Syaoran-kun, and Sakura-chan. It'd be nice if they found something." When he said this, Kurogane stopped pounding his hammer.

"Is it okay for that princess to be walking around?" He seemed a little worried. "You can never tell when she's gonna fall flat on her face, asleep."

"There aren't enough memories for Sakura-chan to return to the way she was before." Fai's face was downcast and his eyes were serious. "She only has two feathers. It does seem like some memories have returned though.

"She doesn't have much of a personality and she can't really comprehend what's happening yet. We need to travel to different worlds and help her get her memory back.

"Well… even if she were to have every single feather returned to her…"

"…Her memories of Syaoran-kun will never return," I finished for him. We were all silent for a moment before Fai sat down and continued.

"Even so, Syaoran-kun's going to search. He's going to travel to many worlds and search for Sakura's feathers, her memories. No matter how difficult it may be…" he said softly. Again, we were silent for a moment. "In the meantime," he traded his dark, serious tone for a playful one, "let's keep up with the construction work while we wait! I wonder if they'll bring back presents!"

Kurogane's vein popped out in anger. "Then… WHY ARE YOU LYING AROUND DRINKING TEA?!?!?!?! YOU NEED TO WORK TOO!!!!!!!" He threw his hammer at Fai, which landed on his head. He didn't seem to feel it.

"Hmm. I thought I would watch over Yuki-chan and Kuro-pippi while they work!" The hammer fell to the ground with a soft thud. I began laughing when Kurogane started yelling, but when Fai wouldn't get up and work, I got a little angry.

"Fai-san?" I asked darkly. He looked up with a cat-like expression on his face. It was all I could do to keep from smiling, his face was absolutely adorable! Thankfully, I was able to keep my dark tone. "You should help out if you don't want to die." My eyes were shining in a way only possible in manga.

"O-okay…" Fai said meekly.

"Thank you very much, Fai-san!" I switched to a kinder disposition. "We're going to have to work faster if we're going to finish before Sakura-chan guys come back." When I noticed both Fai and Kurogane sweat drop, I smiled to myself. Being a manga character was so much fun!

We were able to get the roof done before the others returned, so we just sat around, talking. Kurogane found a board game similar to one in his world. Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona, and Chu'nyan returned with large baskets of food and clothes while we were playing it.

"Welcome back!" Fai said cheerfully, "How was it? I was able to communicate with Yuki-chan and Kuro-tan the whole time, so you didn't go very far, I assume." Then he noticed their sad, defeated faces, especially Chu'nyan's. "Looks like… something happened," he voiced.

They came in and sat down. I saw Syaoran's injured face and asked Chu'nyan if she had any medicine for him. She nodded and went to get it. When she returned, I helped Sakura put it on. As I did so, I listened to Fai and Chu'nyan's conversation. She explained that while they were out, Syaoran tried to help some civilians from Ryon'fui's tyranny, but was defeated by the Ryan Ban's 'wind.'

"If that's the case," Kurogane jumped in, "why don't you just take over?"

"We tried and tried to defeat him!" Chu'nyan insisted. "But we weren't able to lay a single finger on him! The castle he hides in is protected my hijutsu and we can't even get near it!"

"I see," Fai said, "was that the mysterious power you felt, Mokona?"

Mokona nodded. "There was so much power, I couldn't tell if there was a feather or not!"

Fai turned back to Chu'nyan. "By the way, why don't you go after the son? Capture him or something," he suggested. His message was dark, but he said it so lightly, it didn't seem as bad.

"Just now… you said something really dark…" Kurogane noted. Fai simply kept smiling.

"We can't!" Chu'nyan raised her voice and shook her head fiercely. "The Ryan Ban uses hijutsu to watch over the entire village of Ryon Fui. If we ever did something to his son…!"

"It'd be like what happened to your house… and Syaoran-kun." Fai comprehended, "you'd be attacked by hijutsu… I heard that the Ryan Ban suddenly became powerful about a year ago. Could it have anything to do with Sakura-chan's feather?" Syaoran froze when he mentioned the feather.

"That doesn't match up!" Kurogane pointed out, "Those feathers were only lost recently!"

"But the dimensions are different, so the time may be different too," said Fai. Behind him, Syaoran silently stood up.

"I'm going to go check it out," Syaoran declared, "see if the feather really is with the Ryan Ban."

Sakura gripped his clothes, which matched the country we were in. "Wait!" she exclaimed, still half asleep, "Syaoran-kun, you're hurt…"

"I'm fine," he reassured.

"But…!"

"Don't worry. If we find a feather, we'll return it to you as soon as we can."

"Syaoran-kun…" During Syaoran and Sakura's little exchange, I inched myself away toward Kurogane. It was cute and touching, but I felt kind of awkward just being near them.

"Wait a minute," Fai held up his hand, "don't worry, I don't intend to stop you, but… it seems like that Ryan Ban's magic is really strong. It's impossible to simply walk in. Even if we knew what kind of spell was guarding that castle, we would still need to break it."

"Can you do something about that?" Kurogane asked.

"Nope!" Fai answered cheerfully.

"Let's ask Yuuko!" Mokona suggested. Then the red jewel on her forehead began to shine and a circular screen appeared from it. In the screen, an image of Yuuko turned around.

"Hello Mokona. Is something wrong?" she asked. Everyone except me jumped in surprise. There was babbling confusion. I stood up and bowed to Yuuko and tried to say hi, but it was too loud. A vein popped out on my forehead and I yelled, "BE QUIET!!!" Everyone was silent. (I seemed to have a bit more power in the manga universe.) I greeted Yuuko and explained our situation.

"I see," she said with understanding. "You want to break the spell on the castle so you can get in."

"Exactly!" Fai sang.

"…but you don't really need my help. Fai, you can use magic, right?"

"I kind of gave you my magic tattoo, so…"

"The tattoo I received as payment was made to hold magic back. That… is not the source of your power." Fai was silent for a moment before continuing.

"Well, I've promised myself I wouldn't use magic without that tattoo."

"That's fine," Yuuko declared, "I'll send you something that will break the spell on that castle. But… I will need payment."

Fai went and got his staff. "How is this? It's a tool for magic, but I won't use it." Yuuko agreed and instructed him to put it in Mokona's mouth; she quickly swallowed it. Chu'nyan held onto Sakura in horror. She had never seen anything like it.

A few moments later, a small, dark brown orb popped out of Mokona's mouth. By then the image of Yuuko disappeared. Syaoran caught it and held it in his hand. "This… is going to break the spell," he whispered. He was just about to walk out the door when I grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"You are _not_ going to the castle today," I scolded, "You're hurt and Sakura-chan's going to be worried sick about you. The least you can do is rest until tomorrow."

"That's right, kid," Kurogane agreed. Syaoran nodded in understanding then placed the orb within his robes.

"Oh, yeah!" Chu'nyan exclaimed. "We brought back lots of stuff!" She dashed to the baskets. There were three. The two large ones were filled with food and the small one was filled with clothes. She came back with the small one. "Here are some clothes for you! We were able to get it, thanks to Sakura's amazing luck!" She handed Kurogane, Fai, and me our robes. Mine was mostly gray and black, but the sash was a rich violet. "Yuki, you can change in there." She pointed to one of the sliding doors. I thanked her then went to get changed. The clothes were a little long, but I didn't mind. I could hear Fai teasing Kurogane, so I got out quickly. I asked Chu'nyan where they were changing and she pointed to the other door (the one we fixed).

"You better not break anything!" I shouted. Then I went back to Syaoran guys and sat down. I noticed Sakura's head bobbing; she seemed really, really tired. "Syaoran-kun," I hissed. When he looked at me, I pointed to Sakura then patted my shoulder, hinting for him to let Sakura rest on his shoulder.

He hesitantly raised his hand and moved Sakura's head onto his shoulder. He held it there with one hand and grasped her waist with the other. I made a heart around them with my hands and he blushed. Chu'nyan and I quietly giggled.

A minute later, Fai and a grumbling Kurogane came in. Fai saw the sleeping Sakura and put his finger to his lips, silently telling him to be quiet. Kurogane's grumbling stopped.

I helped Chu'nyan set a futon for Sakura, whom Syaoran then lay down in it. Mokona jumped onto my shoulder and whispered that it was getting late. I whispered the message to Chu'nyan and we got more futon.

Soon we were all asleep.

The next morning, Fai woke me up. (The other guys were already awake.) He asked if I could stay at the house with Sakura and Chu'nyan.

"Sure," I agreed. "By the way, when you fight, be careful. The water…" I was about to say that the water will hurt. It was supposed to be a warning (you know, about Kiishimu). Sadly, my bracelet shocked me and I couldn't say it. Fai ruffled my hair and thanked me for trying.

Sakura, Chu'nyan, and Mokona woke up soon after. Syaoran kneeled down and had Mokona jump onto his shoulder. Then he told Chu'nyan to stay while they went to the castle. She was still half asleep and by the time she comprehended what he had said, he was already heading out the door. She got up quickly and ran after him.

"Ah! Chu'nyan!" I called. She didn't stop. I sighed and led Sakura outside, where we could hear Chu'nyan yell no.

"I want to go to the Ryan Ban too!" she demanded.

Fai walked toward her and said, "The Ryan Ban's castle is full of spells and magic. It's very dangerous."

Chu'nyan argued to Syaoran that she would go, defeat the Ryan Ban, and avenger her mother's death. But Syaoran wouldn't budge.

"Please stay here with Princess Sakura and Yuki-san," he said firmly as he turned around and left.

"…Syaoran-kun…" Sakura whispered. Chu'nyan stared at her feet and spoke in a hurt, quivering voice.

"It's because I'm just a kid… and I can barely use hijutsu… and I'd just get in the way…"

Sakura hugged her lovingly, like a mother would to her child. "I'm sure that isn't it," she told her. I stood on the side, watching them. Then I broke the touchy scene.

"Ugh! I can't stand all this cute, fluffiness! Come on, let's eat. I'm starving!" As if to prove my point, my stomach growled.

"Was that thunder?" asked Chu'nyan, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"Nope!" I grinned as I patted my stomach, "That was me!" The little girl smiled and agreed to go inside. For our breakfast, we ate fruit from one of the baskets from yesterday. Chu'nyan explained which was which. Afterwards, we played the board game Kurogane found the day before. It turned out that we were playing it almost exactly the same way. And, of course, Sakura won every time. While we were playing, my bracelet shocked me, even though I hadn't said anything. When I looked at it, the purple gem was glowing. I asked to be excused for a moment then went outside.

From the gem, a circular screen appeared with Yuuko's image shown in it. This gem was exactly like the one the Mokonas had on their forehead.

"Hello Yuki-chan," Yuuko greeted.

"Hello Yuuko-san. Did you need something?"

"I just thought that I'd let you know that you should head for the castle soon. Remember to bring the mirror."

"Oh yeah!" I slapped my forehead. "I forgot about that!" Yuuko was referring to the part in the manga where Chu'nyan and Sakura arrive at the castle with the mirror. "Thank you so much for reminding me, Yuuko-san! Do you need payment or anything?"

"No, it's okay. I'm just trying to keep the story as close to the original as I can. You better get going, Yuki-chan."

"Yes ma'am. I'll see you later, Yuuko-san."

"See you later." Then the screen disappeared and the jewel stopped glowing. I ran back into the house.

"Chu'nyan!" I pointed to the shelf of magic tools. "What does your mother's mirror do?"

She seemed a little puzzled. "It… breaks spells, but only if they're cast on people. Why?"

"We need to take it to the castle," I said as I pulled Sakura up.

"The castle?" Sakura asked, "But we're supposed to stay here."

"The plan's changed a little bit, Sakura-chan. Syaoran-kun needs us to take it to the castle for him.

"So, Chu'nyan, can you lead us to the castle?" The three of us traveled to our destination, which wasn't very far at all. I let Chu'nyan hold onto her mother's mirror.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Sakura wondered on our way there.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine," I answered her. Sure enough, it was. We got into the castle with no problem and finding the room the Ryan Ban and Syaoran were in was easy too. Chu'nyan was about to burst in, but I stopped her. "Wait a little bit." I strained my ears and listened for the sound of fighting. Once I heard it, I shouted, "Go!"

Chu'nyan rushed through the doors and held up the mirror. "Everybody, wake up!!!" she yelled. A strong, bright light shone from the mirror and enveloped everyone in it. When it stopped, the dozens of men who had been under a spell were free. "This mirror breaks any spells cast over people. It was one of my mother's hijutsu tools," she said strongly as she stepped forward.

"Chu'nyan!" Mokona cried out our names, "Yuki and Sakura too!"

"My power is still too weak to cast any strong spells, but… as long as I have this mirror, you won't be able to touch the people of this town again!"

The Ryan Ban, who was much more frightening in person, cursed.

"Hu~h?" a familiar voice said. It was Fai. "There seem to be a lot of people here." He was standing in the doorway along with Kurogane.

"You two are late!!!" Mokona said angrily as she head butted Kurogane, who merely told her, "Shaddup!"

"Sorry, we had a lot to deal with," Fai explained.

I ran over to them, nearly tripping on my long robes. "Are you okay?!" I asked. They were covered in burns from head to toe. It had to be from Kiishimu's acid-water.

"Yeah, we're fine," Fai said, "You tried to warn me about the water this morning. Thank you." Then he raised his hand to ruffle my hair, but I stopped him. I held his large, burnt hand in my small, unharmed ones. All of a sudden, I felt tears come to my eyes. "What's wrong, Yuki-chan?" he asked as he kneeled down in front of me.

"I-I couldn't help you guys at all!" I gripped Fai's injured hand, aware of the tears falling on it. "I'm so useless!" Then I felt another large hand on my head.

"Don't worry about it," Kurogane said, ruffling my hair. I could only stand there and try to hold back my tears. Fai pulled my close, turned me around, and told me to watch. He was referring to the scene that was unfolding in front of us. Ryan Ban was at Syaoran's mercy, shrieking, claiming that if he were to get hurt or die, he wouldn't be able to bring Chu'nyan's mother back. Chu'nyan, who had heard that, began to shriek also.

"You were the one who killed her!!! The person who tried to protect this village! My mother!!! Even so, my mother told me!! No matter how strong you are, you can't bring anyone back from the dead!!!" Tears were pouring from Chu'nyan's eyes and running down her face. "NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TO SEE MY MOTHER!!!! Even then!! You say that kind of thing!!!" It took everything for Sakura to hold her still.

"Chu'nyan," Syaoran said softly, "do you want to hit him?" The girl froze. "If you want to, then go ahead. But… is he worth it, Chu'nyan?" She swallowed and gri her teeth. Then she answered him.

"He's definitely not worth it!" she declared.

Syaoran slowly approached Ryan Ban, who begged, "D-don't touch me!! Don't come any closer!!!" Suddenly an elegant hand, with fingernails as long as my forearm, wrapped its fingers around the Ryan Ban's face.

"Stop right there." It was the owner of that hand, Kiishimu. "How dare you trap me in this castle," she told him. Then she slowly pulled him up into the air and spoke to the rest of us, "I will take this village master. He needs to die a slow, painful death." The Ryan Ban struggled, but could not get free. The bottom of Kiishimu's robes turned into an ominous portal. Just before she dragged her prisoner into it, she spoke to Chu'nyan. She told her good things about her mother, and how she would look forward to the day she would get to fight with her daughter. "Grow strong," she said, "so that we may fight with our hijutsu one day."

"I will," Chu'nyan promised.

Kiishimu smiled and continued to pull Ryan Ban into her portal. Her last words were: "Fare well, my adorable parasites." When the two had disappeared, Syaoran retrieved the feather and gave it back to Sakura, who floated in the air as she absorbed it.

A moment later, she asked, "Why? There's no one there…" And then she slowly began to fall to the ground, asleep. Syaoran caught her.

Fai stood up behind me and we walked toward the two. Kurogane and Mokona followed closely behind. "Looks like we got one more feather," Fai said.

All of us slowly walked back to Chu'nyan's house. Syaoran carried Sakura the whole time. The men who the Ryan Ban cast a spell over also went home to their families. The first question I asked Chu'nyan when we returned was: "Do you have any medicine for them?" She nodded and ran to get some. I set out a futon for Sakura. Syaoran laid her down in it. I instructed the three boys to sit down. A few moments later, Chu'nyan arrived with a bottle of ointment and three small cloths. She poured some of the ointment onto each of the cloths and gave one to me and another to Mokona.

"Dab it on the wounds. And… sorry, it might sting a little," she warned. I worked on Kurogane, Chu'nyan on Fai, and Mokona on Syaoran. Every now and then, Kurogane would wince and I would apologize softly. After a little while, Sakura woke up and helped Mokona with Syaoran. When we were done, it was about lunch time. So we ate food from the basket. Afterwards, we changed back into our regular clothes, the clothes from our own world (although mine was technically from Yuuko's world).

Chu'nyan walked us to the outskirts of the village. She thanked Syaoran for defeating the Ryan Ban.

"I-I didn't really do anything…" Syaoran stammered.

"Unless the spell on that castle was broken, the Ryan Ban would have remained in power. So it's thanks to you guys, Syaoran!"

"No, I… really didn't…"

"We should be thanking you too!" Fai said, "The medicine Chu'nyan-chan gave us really worked!" He waved his arms around to prove his point.

Chu'nyan smiled, "That was medicine my mother made. I can't make it yet, but I'm going to work hard and be a Shin Ban even _she_ can't compare to!"

Sakura grasped Chu'nyan's hands. "You will," she said, "I'm sure of it."

"Yeah," Chu'nyan responded. Her eyes were wet and there were tears welling up in the corners, tears of joy.

Suddenly, Mokona's wings appeared.

"Ah! Is it time to go?" Fai asked.

"Uh-huh!" Mokona replied. Chu'nyan was confused.

"But you guys just came here!" she cried as the five of us took our place near Mokona. Fai and I waved good-bye while Kurogane just stood there.

"There's something we have to do," Syaoran said, "Fare well." And then we disappeared, moving onto the next world.

**Thank you for reading this chapter! The next world is the country of the Misty Lake. See you then! **

**oh! I almost forgot...**

**Happy New Year! (English)**

**Akemashite omedetou! (Japanese)**

**Hau'oli makahiki hou! (Hawaiian)**


	4. Country of the Misty Lake

The Country of the Misty Lake

**Yay! Chapter 3!!! (Relatively) short chapter!**

**This may be a little ... er... blunt, but can you please review? I know that there are only 3 chapters (not including the intro), but reviews would be nice... Criticism (sp?) is much appreciated. **

**Also, my winter break is ending and school will be starting again tomorrow, so it might take a while to upload the next few chapters.**

**Thanks for understanding! ^_^**

"So," Kurogane said bluntly, "where are we?" We had landed near a large, misty lake. It almost looked like a swamp and it didn't seem like anyone was around.

"What a big lake!" commented Fai, "You can't even tell if there're houses or not!"

Syaoran nodded. "There don't seem to be any people besides us. And then there's this mist…"

"How is it Mokona? Can you sense any of Sakura-chan's feathers?" Fai asked.

"Hm… I can sense a strong power…" Syaoran asked where. "In there," Mokona pointed to the lake.

"We have to go in THERE and look for it?!" Kurogane demanded. As Mokona nodded, Sakura stepped forward.

"Wait!" she pleaded, "let me…" she suddenly fainted, "…go…" Kurogane caught her and laid her down.

"Sakura's sleeping!" Mokona said.

"It's because she tried so hard to stay awake while we were at Chu'nyan's place," Fai explained. "She must be exhausted." He took off his large coat and laid it over her so she wouldn't get cold. "Kuro-pyon, Yuki-chan, Mokona, let's go look around."

"Stop calling me that!" Kurogane yelled.

Mokona and I put our finger to our lips and shushed him. He folded his arms and grunted in response. Then we all left Sakura with Syaoran.

We hadn't walked for very long, about 30 minutes, and when I looked back, the lake was completely hidden by the mist. As it got darker, the mist got thicker. Fai voiced my thoughts.

"The mist is really thick now," he said.

"Mm-hm," I heard Kurogane's voice say, "It's dark."

"We walked pretty far, but no one's around. I don't see any buildings either."

"Scary, scary."

"Don't worry, I'm right here…"

"Kurogane is happy!" By then, it was obvious that it wasn't Kurogane, but Mokona, imitating him.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING KUROGANE!!!" he shouted at Mokona, who had been hiding in his cloak. "YOU'RE MOKONA!!!"

"Kurogane's mad!" Mokona laughed as she jumped from him to me.

"DON'T DO WEIRD THINGS LIKE THAT!!!"

Fai chuckled, "Wow Mokona! You're really good at imitating voices! That sounded just like Kuro-myuu!"

"It's one of my 108 secret talents!" Mokona said.

She was on top of my head, so I couldn't look directly at her, but I asked, "What are the other 107?"

"It's… a … secret!" answered Mokona. Fai picked her up and hugged her.

"Mokona's so cool!" he declared.

Kurogane began to walk again, "Cut it out!" he grumbled. I followed him soon after.

"Ah!" Fai and Mokona noticed we were leaving. "Wait for us, Kuro-tan!" As the two came after us, a bright light shone and penetrated the mist. It came from the lake.

"Sakura! Syaoran!" Mokona cried. We all looked at each other then ran back to the lake. I remembered the light was actually a fish. In the manga, Syaoran swam into the lake and found a miniature town at the bottom. The glowing fish was the town's sun.

When we reached the lake, we found a sleeping Sakura near the water's edge. Syaoran was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Syaoran?" Mokona asked in worry.

"I'll bet that light just now came from inside the lake. I wouldn't be surprised if Syaoran was in there right now," I said. "He'd have to come up to breathe eventually, so…" While I was speaking, Fai laid Sakura on his lap and covered her with his coat. A few moments later, Syaoran burst out of the water, holding a giant fish scale, which happened to be glowing.

"Syaoran!" Mokona shouted. She sounded frightened. I knew it was fake, so I simply ignored her. "Sakura is… Sakura is…!!!" Syaoran began to run toward the sleeping girl, when Mokona continued, "… is sleeping!" The worried Syaoran tripped and fell when he heard that.

Fai smiled at him. "You seemed really worried just now. But you know, I think a lot of incidences like that are going to happen. We can never tell when Sakura-chan's going to fall asleep, and it'll be hard sometimes. But, you're going to keep looking for Sakura-chan's memories, aren't you? If you are, then you should lighten up a bit. You don't always have to think about the bad things. It's not like your going to forget them or miss them. If you start smiling or having fun, no one's going to punish you, you know."

Syaoran took in Fai's words in silence.

"Mokona would be happy if Syaoran smiled!" the little white creature said.

"So would I," I added.

Fai pointed to himself, "Of course, me too." Then he pointed at Kurogane, "Ah! I'm sure Kuro-pin does too!"

"Don't bring me into this," Kurogane grunted.

Then Sakura began to stir. Fai had just asked if she was awake when she suddenly stood up. As she stood up, she hit her head on my nose. She didn't seem to feel anything, but I did.

"Agh!" I said. I could feel blood dripping down from my nose and onto my upper lip. Yuck.

"Are you okay?" Mokona asked.

"Nng. Yah. Juhst uh nohse buhleed." My voice was very nasally and it sounded weird. I tipped my head back while holding the bridge of my nose, a trick I had learned from my dad. We both got frequent nosebleeds, especially during the summer, when it was very hot. After a few minutes, my nosebleed stopped. I went to the lake and washed my face. When I returned, Sakura was speaking.

"There are lots of things I don't know and I might not be able to help much, but I'll try my best! _Onegaishimasu_!" she bowed. "I'm so sorry about your nose, Yuki-chan!" Sakura apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm the kind of person who gets nosebleeds a lot, so I'm fine. It's not like you broke my nose or anything." She still seemed a little apologetic, so I held my hand out. "I said don't worry about it. We're friends, right?" That seemed to break the ice a little. We both smiled at each other as we shook hands.

"By the way," Fai said to Syaoran, "was there something in that lake? It was glowing very brightly earlier."

"Oh!" Syaoran pointed to the water, "There was a town!" Everyone became confused, except me. After he explained what he saw, we all understood. We stood around the glowing fish scale as we spoke.

"I see," said Fai, "so the people in this country are the people who live in that lake."

Mokona pointed to the scale, "The power I felt earlier… it's the same as this scale!"

"So the princess's feather is…" Syaoran trailed off.

"I can't sense anything stronger than the power from this scale."

"I guess that means it's not here," Fai concluded.

"Yup!" Mokona nodded.

Kurogane yawned, "So it was a useless search…"

"But Syaoran-kun, you seem like you had fun," Sakura noted.

"It's because I got to see some amazing things!"

"Syaoran-kun," I said, "you might want to dry off a little. You're still really wet."

"Ah, okay. But afterwards, I want to grind this fish scale down. We might find use in its glow."

Fai grinned, "Good point! Here, I'll help you dry off."

"Thank you, Fai-san!"

After Syaoran was dry, Mokona cast the magic circle and we traveled to the next world: the Country of Jade.

**Thank you for reading this chapter! ^_^**


	5. Jade

The Country of Jade

**I apologize for having such a long chapter... I didn't mean for it to be this long, but a lot of things happen to Yuki, so...**

**Thank you to all of my readers who have put up with this story so far! ^_^ But...**

**a few more reviews would be nice.... -_-#**

**Thank you for reading it though! ^_^ I really appreciate it!**

We landed in a large pile of snow on the outskirts of a town. I'd also like to point out that Kurogane landed on me. My face was buried by the snow and I could feel my clothes getting wet. My whole body was freezing.

"Where's Yuki-chan?" I heard Fai ask.

"Mmph!" I grunted to let them know where I was.

"Oh my gosh! Yuki-chan!"

"Kuro-puu, get off of her!"

"Yeah! Get off!"

"Kurogane-san, please hurry!"

By the time they pulled me out of the snow, I was soaking wet and freezing my butt off. "Th-th-thank y-y-you…" I chattered. Then I sneezed loudly.

"We should get you indoors," Syaoran said.

"Th-that's a-a-a g-g-good-d … ACHOO!" I sneezed again. Fai took off his thinner coat.

"Here," he offered. I tried to thank him, but I just sneezed… again. With my black jacket taken off and Fai's coat put on, we walked toward the town.

We walked into a restaurant; since Mokona had pointed out that we hadn't eaten since Koryo. The waitress seemed a little frightened, but we were customers, and she was nice enough to get me a towel to dry myself off with. She led us to a table and took our orders. This was an English-speaking country, so I read the menu to Fai and Kurogane. I lived in America for a few years, so I was fluent in the language.

"Looks like we're the center of attention," Fai noticed.

Syaoran began to fret, "Could it be because of our clothes?"

"Hm… I don't think it's us… just Kuro-tan!"

Kurogane, who was struggling with his steak (he was trying to cut it with a fork), just grumbled. As I helped him cut his meat (with a knife) I could hear Syaoran say, "Um… is it okay? This food…"

"Hm?" Fai cocked his head to one side.

Syaoran leaned forward and whispered, "We don't have any money from this world!"

"Don't worry about it!" Fai insisted, "Right, Sakura-chan?"

"Huh?" she was confused.

"He's referring to your incredible luck." I coughed as I pointed, "Look over there. They're playing cards and betting money. If you were to join in, you'd probably win all of it." I coughed again.

"It looks like you're catching a cold," observed Syaoran.

"Yeah, maybe," I coughed some more.

"It's all Kurogane's fault!" Mokona teased.

"Shaddup!" Kurogane grunted.

Fai laughed then left the table with Sakura to join the men around the card table. She played multiple times and won every single game. Syaoran and Fai watched her while I stayed with Kurogane and Mokona. When the three returned to the table (with a large bag filled with money), a fat man with a large, black mustache came by. He stood directly behind me and I froze. This man worked for Fei Wang Reed. He was a bad guy.

"That was amazing, young lady!" he told Sakura in a gruff but friendly voice.

"I didn't know the rules or anything, but was that okay?" She was very humble and modest. The fat man thought it was a joke (of course, it wasn't).

"You folks are wearing some rather peculiar clothes. Travelers are you?"

Syaoran answered, "Yes. We're looking for something."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"No, not yet. But one of us is getting sick, so we'll need to find a place to stay."

"…Then I won't lie. Don't go to the town up north."

"And why is that?" Fai asked.

"There's a creepy myth about that place," the fat man explained. He told us about the Golden-haired Princess. She lived in a castle near the village in the north and was said to have been very beautiful. One day, a bird flew down to her and gave her a single, magical feather. 'With this feather, I shall grant you magical powers.' The Princess accepted the feather. Soon, the king and queen died and she became the owner of the castle. Then, as if the feather were calling them, children began to disappear from the town. They were never seen again.

"But that's just a story someone made up," Fai assumed.

"Uh… actually…"

"There really is a castle near the town in the north?" Syaoran asked.

The man nodded. "The story is from 300 year ago, so the castle is practically a ruin."

Fai leaned back in his chair. "So… because of that little myth, we shouldn't go to that town?"

"Well," the man said as he turned around to leave, "children have been disappearing again lately. Just like that myth."

I had remained frozen the whole time he was there. Only when he was far from me could I relax. Kurogane noticed this. "What's wrong?" he asked me.

I chose my words slowly and carefully. "He… I don't… I don't like him." The ninja seemed to understand after I held up my left wrist, the one with the bracelet.

Fai got up and stretched. "We should pay for our food then go buy some clothes so we don't stand out." Everyone nodded then stood up. Fai paid and we left the restaurant. He had asked a waitress where a good place to buy clothes was: right across the street. Sure enough, there was a store there. The owner helped us pick out our clothes. I was about to ask for a set of boys' clothes, but Fai wouldn't let me.

"A cute girl like you should wear a dress," he said. I tried to tell him that I thought boys' clothes were more practical and easier to move around in, but I could only cough. I hated this cold. "I'll take that as a yes!" Fai grinned. And then he picked out a dress. It was lilac with a high neck and long sleeves. It looked relatively warm. I also received a long, thick violet cloak with a hood. Again, Fai paid.

Afterwards, we came across a place that rented horses. To my dismay, we walked in. Inside, horses of different sizes and colors were lined up in stalls.

"Fai-san, why are we here?" I asked nervously.

"We don't know how far the town or the castle is, so I figured we should rent some horses." I took a couple of steps back then felt something nibbling on my hair. It was a horse; I didn't have to turn around to know. My body was frozen and not because it was cold. I tried my best not to move a single muscle.

"What's wrong, Yuki-chan?" Sakura asked.

"…horse…" I managed to squeak in a tiny voice.

"Are you afraid of horses?" She took my still, motionless reaction as a 'yes.' Sakura, Syaoran, and Kurogane felt bad for me. Fai on the other hand…

"Sir, we'll take this one!" Fai waved, "And this one, and this one!" He pointed to the horse that was nibbling on my hair, and two other very large, very scary horses.

"Fai-san…!" I whimpered in terror. As the owner took the horse out of the stall, Fai picked me up and put me on it. I immediately tensed and tried to remain as still as I could. Fai got on after me.

"Don't worry, everything's fine," he said, "you can hold onto me if you want." I gladly took that invitation. It didn't even take a second for me to grasp onto him tightly. He laughed lightheartedly at my childish fear. Syaoran helped Sakura onto another horse then climbed on. Kurogane had already gotten on the other one. After we were outside, Fai paid… again.

It didn't take long for us to lose sight of the village as we rode to the northern town. Somehow, we had gotten onto the topic of the story of the Golden-haired Princess.

"A magic feather that grants powers," Fai adjusted his hat. "Sounds like Sakura-chan's feather to me."

Mokona, who was on Fai's shoulder, said, "I can't sense any strong powers."

"But we still can't say there isn't feather, right? Maybe something unexpected happened. And even though it's an old myth, it's similar to the case in Chu'nyan's world."

Kurogane turned to Syaoran, "So, are we going?"

"Yes," Syaoran said, "to the town in the north."

Afterwards, we began to talk about the climate. Every time someone said the word 'snow,' I thought they meant me. (For those of you who don't know, Yuki means snow in Japanese.)

"Are you alright?" Syaoran asked Sakura. He was referring to the temperature.

"I'm fine. These clothes are nice and warm."

"That's right," Fai said, "the country Sakura-chan came from is in the middle of a desert."

"Yes, but it can get really, really cold at night."

"So what about you, Kuro-run?" Fai asked the ninja.

Kurogane grunted, "In Japan, we have four seasons. It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer. And don't call me Kuro-run!!"

"And you, Yuki-chan?" Fai asked me.

"We have four seasons too, but where I live, it doesn't get too cold in the winter. In fact, it rarely ever snows. The nights there are really hot too, unlike Sakura-chan's country. Overall, it's a very warm place." I actually live near Osaka, but since my dad raised me very strictly, I don't speak in Kansai dialect, although he lets my mom speak any way she pleases.

Mokona popped out from beneath Fai's coat and asked, "What was your country like, Fai?"

"It's very, very, very cold because it's way up north. It might even be colder than here." I wasn't sure whether he meant Celes or Valeria.

"What about Syaoran-kun?" Sakura asked.

"Well, my father and I traveled around a lot to many different countries, so…"

"That must mean you've seen countries that are both hot and cold!" Sakura smiled.

We rode for another minute or so when Mokona cried out, "Look!"

There was a tall post with a sign on the side of the road. Just beyond the sign, a town was visible. Fai looked up and wondered what it said.

"'Spirit,'" Syaoran and I read simultaneously. "At least I think that's how you read it," the boy continued, "It's the same language my dad taught me."

"I used to live in a country that used the same language," I said.

"So you both can read it!" Fai exclaimed.

"That's amazing!" complimented Sakura. Both were very impressed.

"Hey," Kurogane said, "I don't think this is the time to be playing around." He stared at the town. There were no people, not a single person. A town was supposed to have men working, women doing grocery shopping, and children running around, playing. If it weren't for the silhouettes of people peeking from their windows, the town would have been thought deserted. We all kept our guard up as we rode in. Mokona decided to hide in Kurogane's coat.

The town was silent and as we passed, the windows of the houses all slammed shut. One house though, had a little girl with a cat-shaped doll standing outside the door.

"Hello," Syaoran said in a friendly voice, "Can we ask you something? Do you know anything about…" As he was speaking, a woman, most likely her mother came out and pulled the girl inside, saying, "I told you not to go outside!" Then she slammed the door rather loudly.

Fai sighed, "I'll bet this is because of that story. Even if we want to learn about it, they won't talk to us…"

"It'd be nice if they could at least tell us where the castle of the Golden-haired Princess is," Syaoran said. In the distance, we could hear running feet.

"Hold on," Fai whispered to me. I gripped onto him tightly. The running feet belonged to a group of men. All of them had guns and they were aiming at us. Fai and Kurogane quickly got in front of Syaoran and Sakura. Fai had told me to hold on because of the speed of the action. It was really fast.

"Who are you!?" one of the men demanded.

"We're travelers researching old legends, myths, buildings, and other things like that!" Syaoran answered.

"And why are you doing that?!"

"We're writing a book," Syaoran said bluntly.

"A book?"

"Yes sir."

"A kid like you?!"

"No, he is," Syaoran gestured to Fai, who grinned.

"That's right!" the pale haired wizard said, "That girl is my little sister, that boy is my editor, and… this is our helper!" He pointed to each person respectively.

"Who're you calling a hel-GAH!" Kurogane's body became rigid, as if something hit it (probable Mokona).

"And what about her?!" the man asked loudly.

I began to cough, which made answering difficult. "I'm *cough* the helper's cou- *cough* cousin. *cough cough cough*"

"Stop right there!" a voice shouted. A handsome man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail with a ribbon and circular spectacles ran between us and the men with the guns. "How dare you point guns at travelers?"

"But in times like this…!"

"Even so, I cannot forgive you for suddenly making enemies of these people!" The man turned and spoke to us, "I am very sorry about that, travelers. Welcome to 'Spirit!'" When he turned toward us, I recognized him. He was Dr. Kyle Rondart, a man who was after Sakura's feather. He appeared kind, but was actually a horrible man. He also worked for Fei Wang Reed. I held on even tighter to Fai (who glanced down at me with a concerned expression) and never took my eyes off Dr. Kyle as he led us to his house. Every now and then, he would look at me from the corner of his eye with suspicion. It was only at these times I would drop my gaze.

"My name is Kyle Rondart. I am the town's doctor," he introduced himself as he served us tea. I took mine politely, but stayed far away from him, near Kurogane.

"Thank you very much for letting us stay here," Syaoran said.

"My pleasure. This place used to be an inn, so there are quite a few rooms here," Dr. Kyle said kindly.

Suddenly, the door flew open, revealing a tall, well-dressed man with a decorative cane. He had long, wavy hair and a small mustache. I recalled his name was Glosum. Next to him was an old man, the mayor.

"Where's the doctor?!" shouted Glosum, "Who does he think he is, letting strangers stay at our town?!"

"Mister Glosum, calm down…" the mayor said.

"How can I calm down at a time like this, Mayor? We haven't even found the culprit yet!"

Dr. Kyle stepped forward. "Even more so," he said, "these people are researching myths and legends. They might know something. Also, one of them is ill." I figured he meant me, since I had been coughing uncontrollably every now and then.

"What can these suspicious people possibly know?!" continued Glosum.

"Things we who live here may not," Dr. Kyle said.

"… If something happens, you'll be held responsible. And don't say I didn't warn you."

The mayor was fretting about. "M-mister Glosum!" He felt he should say something to the man as he left out the door, but didn't know what, so he spoke to Dr. Kyle, "W-well… we can't throw them out in the cold. Please take care of them, Doctor." Then the old man chased after Glosum. Dr. Kyle closed the door.

"I apologize," he said, "I wasn't able to introduce you. That was the town mayor and Mister Glosum. Mister Glosum owns most of the land in this town."

"Sorry for dropping in at a time like this," Fai apologized.

"We heard about this place from another town nearby," Syaoran said, "the myth of 'Spirit.'"

Dr. Kyle's face was downcast. "All my life, I had believed that was a simple story. But then children began to disappear. We all put our hands together and searched for them, but we haven't found a single one. 20 children have disappeared so far."

"So many…" Sakura whispered to herself.

"That's why people around here got all suspicious when they saw us," said Kurogane.

"Now… as I have told Mister Glosum…" Dr. Kyle walked toward us, away from the door. "Even if it is only a little," he said, "please tell me any information from your travels that might help us." No one got the chance to answer because I began coughing so violently, I nearly passed out.

"Before we tell you anything," I heard Fai say, "Could you please help her?"

"Of course," Dr. Kyle said. He grabbed his bag of tools and told me to sit down. "Say 'ah.'"

"Ah~." He held my tongue down with a stick and shined a light in my mouth. I didn't see what it was, but I don't think it was a flashlight. Then he took my temperature.

"You seem to have a cold. Don't worry; I'll give you some medicine and you'll be fine an a couple of days," he said as he reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of thick, brown liquid that looked similar to maple syrup. He poured it into a spoon and made me swallow it. That medicine was the most disgusting thing I'd ever had. It tasted like ____ (insert word of your choice here). Dr. Kyle handed me the bottle and the spoon. "Make sure to take this when you wake up and before you go to sleep," he instructed.

"Thank you…" I murmured in response. Then I noticed that I really did feel better; my throat didn't bother me so much anymore.

"And make sure you stay warm," he continued, "Don't go outside without a coat."

"Okay. I understand," my voice was still a little hoarse.

"Such a good girl," Dr. Kyle said as he ruffled my hair lightly. Then he turned to everyone else. "If you think of anything, please tell me. In the meantime, feel free to choose your rooms. They're right upstairs."

"Thank you~!" Fai said.

"Thank you very much, Dr. Kyle," Sakura and Syaoran said. I thanked him also (reluctantly, I might add) then went upstairs with everyone else.

When we were alone, Kurogane pulled Mokona out of his clothes and began to pull her cheeks _really_ far apart. He was grumbling about something. I left the two to work out their problems and stood by Sakura.

"Good thing we were able to get a room," Fai said, "And that was a nice follow, when we were surrounded by townspeople and didn't know what to do."

Syaoran blushed modestly, "A similar thing happened when I was traveling with my father."

Fai sat down on the windowsill. He noted how the people of 'Spirit' were very worried and how they blamed the Golden-haired Princess, even though they couldn't tell for sure. "Well, it's getting late," he said, changing the subject, "and it seems like we should be getting to bet." As he said this, Sakura, who had been trying to stay awake, fell over, asleep. Luckily, Syaoran caught her and laid her down on a bed in one of the rooms. Mokona jumped from Kurogane, to my head, and then to the same bed as Sakura.

"I'm gonna sleep here!" she declared as she dived beneath the covers.

"Fine by me," Fai said, smiling. Then he left the room with Syaoran following closely behind. I chose a bed the opposite of Sakura (and Mokona). Soon, I was fast asleep.

The next morning, I woke up coughing. It wasn't as bad as the day before, but it still sucked. Sakura and Mokona were still asleep. I got up and stretched. Then I took the medicine Dr. Kyle gave me. Yuck! It tasted just as ______ (insert word of your choice here). After I drank it, I woke up Sakura and Mokona. Just as we were opening the door, the boys were opening theirs.

"Sakura-chan came from a desert country, so this might be her first time seeing snow," I heard Fai say as he opened the door.

"Huh? You mean me?" I pointed to myself.

Fai laughed. "No, not you, Yuki-chan. Good morning by the way." Syaoran and Kurogane greeted us as well.

"Good morning," Sakura and I said together. Syaoran noticed Sakura's confused and worried expression.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Last night, I saw something," she answered hesitantly. We were all curious about what she had seen (except me, I already knew what it was). She was just about to tell us, when someone outside shrieked, "MY BABY!!!" We rushed downstairs and dashed out the door toward all the commotion. A woman was crying, clutching onto a stuffed doll. The doll was shaped like a black cat. It belonged to the little girl from the day before; she had disappeared. "It must have been the Golden-haired Princess who…!" The woman was wailing in despair.

Sakura gasped. "So that wasn't a dream?" she said softly.

The man from yesterday, the town's vigilant, shouted, "What do you mean by 'that?!'" Syaoran stood protectively in front of Sakura.

"Last night," she began, "in the snow… there was a woman with golden hair wearing a white dress. She was walking down the street, being followed by these black birds." The townspeople began to panic.

"The Golden-haired Princess is stealing our children!"

"It's the Princess of the Northern Castle!"

"She did this to us!"

Suddenly, a strong voice shouted, "Why don't you all get a grip?!" It was Glosum.

"Has another child disappeared?" Dr. Kyle said as he ran toward us.

"Last night," Glosum said suspiciously, "did any of your 'guests' leave the house?"

"If they did, I most certainly would have known. My room is right next to the entrance." The two men stared at each other in silence.

The mayor attempted to calm the townspeople. "We can't do anything here," he said nervously, "Come. Let's search for the children." As the mayor led the crowd, the vigilante looked back angrily at us.

"We seem to have a few haters here!" Fai said lightheartedly.

"They're just suspicious," said Kurogane bluntly. I could see a small lump traveling up his arm from beneath his clothes. It was probably Mokona.

Dr. Kyle sighed as Glosum left with everyone else. "Now," the doctor said, turning to us, "why don't we return? Breakfast has already been made." The five of us followed him back to the house.

Fai decided to tease Kurogane on the way back, "Are you gonna be okay? Kuro-npu isn't the best at forks and knives."

"Shaddup! You can't even use chopsticks!" Kurogane yelled back. I tried to laugh, but ended up coughing instead. "Where's your coat?" the ninja asked.

"I forgot it. It's still inside," I answered between coughs. Fai pulled me close as we walked to keep me warm. I thanked him.

"No problem," he replied. We quickly made it back to the house. Dr. Kyle served us soup, bread, and water. I sat next to Kurogane, across from Sakura. Fai sat on the end. Kurogane didn't know how to use a spoon, so I helped him while Sakura told the doctor about the Golden-haired Princess. He was very startled.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said, "If only I had gone outside to see…"

Dr. Kyle smiled reassuringly. "It's alright. You must have thought it was a dream. Seeing a woman dressed in white walking through the snow in the middle of the night isn't very common. Anyone would have thought it wasn't real."

"Well, I don't think the townspeople feel the same way," Fai grinned.

The doctor frowned. "That is because to the people of 'Spirit,' that myth happens to be the truth."

"The truth? You mean it's real?" Syaoran asked.

"In this country, 'Jade,' there are records. '300 years ago, there was a princess named Emeraude. Soon after the king and queen suddenly died, children from the town nearby disappeared.'"

"Do the records say anything about what happened to those children afterwards?"

"It says, 'No child returned the same.'"

Kurogane spoke through his teeth and let the fork in his mouth wobble up and down. "That could be thought of as 'they never came back alive.'" I pulled the fork out of his mouth and told him to eat nicely.

Dr. Kyle continued to explain that there really was a castle nearby that looked similar to the one Princess Emeraude lived in and that the people couldn't be blamed for thinking they were one and the same.

"Were there any others in town who've seen the Golden-haired Princess?" Syaoran questioned.

"No," Dr. Kyle turned to Sakura, "I believe you were called Miss Sakura, right? You were the first one. So because of that, please take caution of Mister Glosum."

Fai rested his chin on his hand, "So Sakura-chan might be the one and only witness," he said to himself.

"Is it possible to read those records, sir?" Syaoran asked.

"Y-yes, of course," said Dr. Kyle, "They are with the mayor and there is another copy with Mister Glosum, although I do not think you would want to ask him. Let us finish eating first, and then I will tell you where the mayor's house is. I have a few appointments with the remaining children in this town, so I will not be able to accompany you." We did as he suggested and finished our soup. Then we helped Dr. Kyle clean up afterwards. If I didn't know he was the bad guy, I would have been easily fooled by his kindness (and not to mention his looks; he's pretty hot in person).

After we were done, he told us where the mayor lived. I made sure to get my cloak before we lived. I made sure to get my cloak before we left. It only took about 10 minutes to get there. It only took about 10 minutes to get there. As we approached the house, Fai asked Syaoran, "Do you want to read the records of this country because you want to read about the history of this country?"

"Well, there's that, but I also want to see something," Syaoran said.

Fai nearly walked past the house, but caught himself. "Whoops! The mayor's house is here. The one the doctor told us about." He rang the bell. "He said there was a copy of the records at Mister Glosum's house, but I don't think he'd let us borrow it," he pointed out.

The heavy, wooden door opened to reveal a tentative maid. "M-may I help you?" she asked as she peeked out from behind.

"Sorry for barging in," Fai greeted, taking off his hat, "Is the mayor at home?" As the maid began to panic, the mayor walked down the stairs. When he saw us, he was very startled.

"You're the ones from Dr. Kyle's…" Fai ignored the mayor's obvious surprise and said hello. "Oh! I'm sorry," the mayor said, "Please come in." He motioned for us to enter his home. Kurogane came in last and the maid closed the door after him. She took our coats for us then left the premises then the mayor led us to the parlor. He sat down on a chair and gestured to the sofa right across from him. Fai and Sakura sat down. The rest of us remained standing.

The mayor leaned forward in his chair and buried his face in his hands. "21 children… gone," he sighed sadly.

"No one found anything that could be of use?" Fai asked.

"No. Never." The mayor explained to us that children began disappearing 2 months earlier. The first one was a boy who had gone out to pick fruit. He never came back. After that, children went missing at night, sometimes 3 at a time. No matter how many times the adults told their children not to go outside at night, they kept disappearing. There were never any signs of a struggle; they were simply missing from their beds.

The old man got up and pulled a book from the shelf on the wall. As he handed it to Syaoran, he said, "This contains the history of our country from 300 years ago. Anything you need to know about Princess Emeraude and that feather of hers is written in here. I've read it many times myself, but I've never found anything useful." The mayor sat back down in his chair. "After you finish reading that, please leave this town… before something happens that cannot be reversed."

"Thank you for letting us borrow this book," Syaoran said, "but there is something I must do." The mayor was a little startled by this remark but quickly recovered and called for the maid to show us out. When she gave us back our coats, she avoided making physical contact with us. I thanked her politely then put my hood on.

Syaoran was reading the book the whole time we walked back to Dr. Kyle's house. He didn't look up once.

"Syaoran-kun, does the book say anything about the castle?" I asked. Without looking up, he flipped through the book.

"Yes," he said, still reading, "We should get our horses. When he mentioned horses, my body tensed.

Fai patted my head, "If we need horses, it must be pretty far away, right Syaoran-kun?"

"Yes," I looked up at Fai with a distressed look. He simply grinned.

So… we got the horses. They were in a stable near Dr. Kyle's house. Syaoran was going to ride his own. Sakura would ride with Fai and I would ride with Kurogane. I was reluctant to get on but Kurogane picked me up and put me on. Then he got on after me. "Let's go…" he said as he held onto me so I wouldn't fall off. I gripped onto him just like I did with Fai. I couldn't tell for sure, but I think I saw Kurogane grin at my reaction to horses.

Once we were all set, we followed Syaoran to the castle. Even on his horse, he didn't look up; he kept his eyes on the words on the page. One time, his horse hopped over the roots of a tree. The branches of the same tree were very low. Miraculously, Syaoran ducked under the branches as his horse hopped over the roots.

"Hyuu~!" Fai pretended to whistle, "He's not even looking!" We rode a little longer. Suddenly, Mokona popped out of Kurogane's coat and began to tease him. As a response, he tried to grab her… but let go of me. I began to slip backwards, rather quickly.

Luckily, Kurogane got a hold of my arm before I could fall off. He pulled me back up. "Hold on tighter," he told me. I nodded and did as he instructed.

A few moments later, Syaoran looked from his book and pointed to his right. "It's just ahead," he said. He put his arm down closed the book. Then he kicked his horse so that it would move faster. Kurogane and Fai did the same.

It didn't take long to reach the castle, only a minute or so. Between us and the large, ruined castle, was a wide, powerful river.

"So _that's_ the Northern Castle," Fai said. He was having an 'Ah-hah!' moment.

"So how are you supposed to get across?" Kurogane questioned bluntly.

Mokona, who had been on the horse's head, asked, "You can't cross it, Kurogane?"

"Of course not. And if I can't, then obviously little kids can't either."

Syaoran opened the book again and flipped through the pages. "It appears this river was here 300 years ago," he stated.

"How did they get into the castle?" Fai wondered.

"There must have been a bridge," Syaoran said.

"Hm… Well that bridge isn't here now, so there's no way to get across."

Kurogane turned the horse around and said, "Since you can't cross the river, you can't keep kids in that castle. C'mon. Let's go." I wanted to say there was a dam that stopped the river and a rock bridge beneath the surface of the water, but I kept my mouth shut.

On our way back to town, Fai spotted a certain well-dressed man on a nice horse in the distance. "Hey, look!" he pointed, "It's Mister Glosum!"

"What the heck is he doing over there?" Kurogane wondered.

"Yeah. There's nothing in that direction…"Fai said. "Is he looking for another entrance to the castle?" We watched Glosum disappear among the trees then continued on our way. When we got back, the people all had worried expressions on their faces.

Up ahead, we could see Dr. Kyle step out of one of the houses, followed by a young girl and her mother. The girl had freckles and long, wavy hair. She was clutching a black doll shaped like a rabbit.

"Take care," the doctor told her. as we got closer, I could see tears of either fear or worry in her eyes.

"Making rounds, sir?" Syaoran asked as he got off his horse. While he did so, Dr. Kyle answered yes and Fai, Sakura, Kurogane, and I got off our own horses. The girl and her mother went back inside.

"That girl just how was a very good friend of the girl who disappeared this morning. She has received quite a shock…" Dr. Kyle explained. "Were you able to borrow the book?"

"Yes, from the mayor," Syaoran replied.

The doctor sighed. "I do not even care if you find out it is that princess. Just tell me anything you discover, no matter how improbable it might seem… I only want the children to return swiftly and safely."

After our encounter with Dr. Kyle, we returned the horses to the stables then bought some bread for our lunch. It was actually really good. After that, we walked around town. There was a second-hand bookshop, but there weren't any books about the feather or Princess Emeraude. After _that_, we ate dinner at a restaurant then went back to our rooms at Dr. Kyle's house. I gulped down some medicine (*gags*) and made a face.

"Is it that bad, Yuki-chan?" Sakura asked.

"Ugh. Yes," I nodded. "It really is… so don't get sick or you'll have to take this crap too." The two of us (and Mokona, who came into the room later) ended up talking all night, long after the boys had gone to sleep. Finally, we went to bed. At least, Mokona and I did. Sakura said she would watch for the princess. I was so tired, I didn't even care.

Well, I woke up to the sound of tree branches shaking violently. When I opened my eyes, I saw Sakura climb out the window and down the tree.

"Crap," I whispered to myself as I slipped on my boots and followed her, making sure she didn't see me. She was chasing after a group of children. They were all heading for the castle. When they got there, they stopped at the river, which was still flowing strongly. Suddenly, the water stopped. The children hopped down and began to walk on the water's surface towards the entrance of the castle. The gate was already open and the children walked inside.

Sakura began to sway. I realized she had remained awake while I slept. She must have been incredibly tired. As if to prove me right she collapsed, exhausted.

"Miss Sakura!" a voice shouted. It wasn't mine. I hid behind a tree and saw a man in a large black cloak approach her. He didn't see me. His face was hidden as he picked up the sleeping girl and carried her to the castle, walking on the water's surface. About midway, his hood fell off. It was Dr. Kyle. He looked around to check if anyone was around then continued. He didn't bother to put his hood back up.

I waited for the doctor to leave the castle before I went back. If I left before he did, he couldn't have seen me and I would've been screwed. As I began to walk, I noticed that my boots were very loud, even in the snow. So I took them off and left them by a tree. I ripped the hem of my dress so I could wrap my feet. I'm not really sure why; I've seen anime characters do it a lot, so I did it too.

When there was absolutely no sign of Dr. Kyle, I headed for his house. I didn't realize how far the castle was from the house. I also didn't realize how cold it was tonight. My feet were freezing and I was sick again, worse this time. More than once, I coughed so long and hard, I passed out and collapsed. Sadly, I didn't make it back to the room. I _did _make it to the tree though, but I started coughing, passed out, and fell off the tree. Yes, I know. It's kind of pathetic.

When I woke up, it was already morning and I could hear voices coming from the window of the room Sakura and I were staying in.

"I wonder if this window is where Sakura-chan and Yuki-chan climbed from…" This voice sounded like Fai.

"Must've been that Golden-haired Princess… either that, or they saw someone taking the kids." Deep and strong. Kurogane. Whatever they said next, I couldn't hear. They had pulled their heads back into the room. Thankfully, when they pulled Sakura's blanket, which had been hanging on the window, inside, they saw me.

"Yuki-chan!" Fai yelled. My eyes were closed and I couldn't see it, but I knew Fai had jumped out the window. How I knew? There was the thud of someone's feet a few meters away. There was also the warm embrace a moment later.

"Yuki-chan, are you okay?!" he held me tightly, trying to warm me up. Two more thuds came.

"Yuki-san!" Syaoran exclaimed, surprised and worried. "Are you alright?! And where's Sakura?!"

"Before that, let's get you inside!" Fai lifted me into his arms and carried me princess-style. I felt a thick blanket cover me. When I opened my eyes, I saw it was Kurogane with the blanket. I tried to thank them, but all I could do was cough violently. Then I passed out.

When I woke up again, I was on a bed. Fai was feeling my forehead and Kurogane and Syaoran were speaking to Dr. Kyle. I saw the doctor and tensed.

"Are you awake?" Fai asked kindly taking his hand away from my head. I took my eyes off the doctor and nodded to Fai, who smiled at me. "Where did you go?"

"To the… castle…" my voice was incredibly sore. "Sakura is… still there… and so are… the… children… We need to… go…" I pushed the covers away and sat up. Fai tried to tell me to rest, but I wouldn't listen. When I stood up, my knees buckled beneath me and I tripped, but Fai caught me.

"Miss Yuki," Dr. Kyle said as he walked over to me, "you must rest. You are terribly ill." He was about to touch my shoulder when I backed away from him toward Fai, who wrapped his arms around me like a big brother. I would not let that doctor touch me. "Miss Yuki, please try to be reasonable," he said.

I shook my head fiercely. "No… _you_ be reasonable." My voice was so scratchy and I hated it. "You need to… bring the childr-ah!" Oh. What a surprise. My bracelet shocked me.

Dr. Kyle gasped. "Miss Yuki! Are you alright?!" Again, he tried to touch my shoulder, but Fai beat him to it. The doctor's facial expression caught my eye. It was so cold and mean, I had to look away. It seemed like Fai caught it as well, because he shot the same look back.

"Come on, Yuki-chan. Let's go," he said as he led me to the door. Syaoran and Kurogane followed closely behind.

When we left the room, Kurogane asked, "You don't like him?" I shook my head in response. "Huh. Neither do I." Fai got my coat for me and helped me put it on. I thanked him then he ruffled my hair. That motion has somehow become a gesture of endearment.

As we stepped outside (I used Fai's shoes from Celes), the towns vigilante saw us. "Where are you going?!" he demanded loudly.

"We're gonna go look for the children and my little sister!" replied Fai breezily.

"Then I'm coming with you! That way I can keep an eye on what you're doing!" He looked at each of us then his gaze rested on me. "What's SHE doing here?! I thought she disappeared!" he pointed.

"No… I only followed Sakura. She saw someone lead the children to the castle," I paused to cough, "I didn't see who it was, but I saw the children. They went into the castle."

"How?!"

"By walking on the water…"

"You liar!!!" the vigilante shouted. I cringed. His voice was so loud, my ears hurt.

"Hey," Kurogane stepped forward, in front of me, "how would you know she's lying. We found her this morning lying frozen in the snow without any shoes. For all you know, she's telling the truth." The vigilante scowled at him.

"Well don't come crying to me when you find out she's lying!"

"I won't come crying," Kurogane said, "because I know she's telling the truth." He ruffled my hair as he said this. "All right," he took his hand off my head, "let's go." I nodded and began to walk in the direction of the castle. Fai and Kurogane walked on either side of me while Syaoran walked alongside the vigilante, questioning him. I heard "Dr. Kyle," "Mister Glosum," and "records" pop up multiple times.

It took a while to reach the castle because we didn't have horses. Kurogane wanted to see if there were any footprints, but the snow made it hard to tell.

"The snow from last night covered any footprints left behind," he said, kneeling down

"You've been looking for alternate routes to the castle?" Syaoran asked the vigilante.

"Of course we are!" the vigilante yelled. Fai, Kurogane, and I all covered out ears.

"I assume you've also searched near the castle," Syaoran continued.

"We searched all the way up to the river, since we can't cross. That's how I know that girl is lying!!!"

I stood up to him. "I'm not lying," I said firmly. My throat hurt, but at least my voice wasn't scratchy anymore. Then I went to the tree where I left my boots from the night before. They were still there. I held them over my head as proof.

"Hmph," the vigilante still didn't believe me.

I emptied the snow from my boots and carried them in my hand as I walked over to Syaoran, who was waving for me to come over.

"How did the children get across?" he asked me.

"The water from the river stopped flowing and they just walked across." Syaoran thought about that for a while. Then he asked, "What about Sakura?"

"A man in a black hood was following the children. He found Sakura-chan sleeping on the ground. Then he picked her up and carried her across the river and took her inside the castle."

"Why was she sleeping?"

"I think she stayed up all night to watch for the princess. So she must have been exhausted." Syaoran was silent again. Then he opened his mouth to ask something else.

"Did you see the man's face?" I hesitated before answering no. He was obviously disappointed. I stared down at Fai's shoes (which were on my feet), wondering what to say, when Syaoran continued. "Do you think there's a dam somewhere up the river?"

I looked up and said, "Yeah, maybe." Yes! There is! We just need to find it!

"Hm…" Syaoran rubbed his chin then asked Fai something. I wasn't listening; I was looking at the river. It was flowing very quickly and unless it was stopped, you couldn't get across. I was trying to remember how this story arc ended (according to the manga) when Fai tapped me on the shoulder.

"Let's go back, Yuki-chan," he said with a smile. I nodded and followed him. The 5 of us (plus the hidden Mokona) walked back to town.

"So in the end, we couldn't find anything!" the vigilante shouted.

Kurogane and I merely replied, "Shaddup."

"Hey! It's Mister Glosum!" Fai stopped walking and I accidentally bumped into him.

"He's dripping wet," observed Kurogane.

"You're right. Looks cold."

"He's going to get sick…" I said.

Fai nodded. "Mm-hm. But it's not snowing, so why is he all wet?" he leaned on a nearby tree branch like a lazy child. "Oh, hey! He saw us!"

"Maybe he fell into the river in front of the castle," Kurogane wondered. Syaoran and I stood between the two adults. We watched Glosum and Glosum watched us. As we did so, the vigilante totally started insulting the well-dressed man, who obviously heard. Glosum turned away from us and continued on his way.

Syaoran stared after him then said to the rest of us, "There's one more thing I'd like to check." He took the lead and we followed him to the mayor's house. A different maid opened the door but we were taken to the same parlor. Syaoran and I sat on the couch while the vigilante, Kurogane, and Fai remained standing. And the mayor sat in his chair across from me and Syaoran, who asked about the children.

"When did which child disappear?" the mayor repeated.

"Yes," Syaoran said, "I heard that you keep very detailed records."

The vigilante boasted, "Of course! We don't have a scribe or anything, so he writes down everything that happens in town!" Kurogane, who was standing right next to him, plugged his ear with his finger to block out his loud voice.

"It is true that I recorded such information…"

"Will you please let us see it?"

"W-why do you want to see it?"

Syaoran leaned forward, serious. "There may be something that could help us find the children." The mayor didn't know what to do at first. Then he went to the bookshelf and pulled out a thin book. When he handed it to Syaoran, he asked us to leave. We obliged.

As soon as Syaoran stepped outside, he opened the book and began to read, not once looking up.

"Make sure you don't lose that! It's very important!" the vigilante shouted.

"Yes, sir," Syaoran said. He walked down the steps and navigated himself around multiple obstacles without looking up. Then he fell.

"It's because you're reading and walking at the same time!" scolded the vigilante loudly.

Fai noted, "Before, he could dodge anything, even on a horse." He made way for Kurogane and me before continuing, "He must be really worried about those children and Sakura-chan."

Kurogane walked to Syaoran and lifted him out of the snow by his coat. "I'm sorry," the boy apologized, book still in hand.

"Don't sweat it," replied Kurogane, "You won't be able to see what's right in front of you."

"… Yes, sir," Syaoran said as the ninja let him down. I noticed that there was still snow on him, so I dusted it off before it could melt. "Thank you Yuki-san," he smiled.

"Don't mention it…There, done." I looked past him into the window of a house. "It's the doctor," I stated bluntly. Syaoran followed my gaze and saw that what I said was true. Dr. Kyle was treating a little boy holding a dog-shaped doll. Fai came over and looked into the window.

"Dr. Kyle's so busy," the pale-haired wizard pointed out.

"The doctor came to this town 2 years ago. Before then, we never had any health officials," boasted the vigilante, "And not only does he help the injured or the sick, but he plays with the kids and they all love him! He's definitely the best doctor ever!"

While the vigilante was praising him, the doctor left the child's room to speak with his mother. The boy got out of bed and opened the window. He climbed onto the windowsill and pointed to the sky. "A black bird," he said.

Syaoran and I looked to where the boy was pointing, but the sky was empty. "Do you see any bird?" he asked.

"No," I answered.

"… We need to go," he said. I nodded in response. "Fai-san, Kurogane-san," the two men turned their heads toward Syaoran when he called their names, "Let's go." They nodded then followed him.

Syaoran led us to Dr. Kyle's house. "I need something of his," he explained as he opened the door. He walked into the doctor's office and began searching the shelves. "Help me look for his patient's records!"

"No way!" the vigilante shouted.

"Then stand watch," I told him as I helped Syaoran. The vigilante was about to say something, but Fai and Kurogane dragged him from the room. After further searching I found it wedged between two textbooks. Looks like the doctor didn't want anyone seeing them… "Syaoran-kun, I got it," I said.

Unfortunately, Fai poked his head in and said, "He's coming!" Syaoran and I looked at each other. We were still in our thick coats and I had the doctor's records in my hands. Syaoran began to take off his coat.

"Put it back," he instructed.

"What? Why?" I was so confused.

"Do you want to get caught?" No, I didn't, so I reluctantly did as he said and wedged it back between the textbooks. Then I took my coat off. Fai poked his head back in.

"He's almost here! Oh! I'll take those for you," he took the coats from our hands and dashed away.

A moment later, Dr. Kyle walked in. He seemed startled when he saw us. "Is something wrong?" he asked us.

"I'm sorry. I scraped my hand," Syaoran said smoothly. "And I thought that perhaps I could borrow some medicine."

"Please let me see it," Dr. Kyle said as he pulled up a couple of rolling chairs. He reached into his bag and brought out his supplies. While he treated Syaoran's hand, he asked, "Did you accidentally hit it somewhere?"

"Well, I tripped and fell…"

"What about you, Miss Yuki? Anything you would like me to check? An injury? More cough medicine?"

"Ah, no, I'm fine," I stammered. I didn't think I could lie as smoothly as Syaoran, who continued speaking.

"Making rounds to the children today, sir?"

"Yes," Dr. Kyle said as he put his things back in his back, "There's one child who will not eat and cannot sleep at night… So, where have you gone today?"

"To Princess Emeraude's castle," Syaoran answered.

The doctor was surprised. "Were you able to find something?"

"I don't think the disappearance of the children was Princess Emeraude's doing," Syaoran said with a straight face.

"Then who would…?!"

"… Mister Glosum was spotted near the castle yesterday and today. Today, he was completely wet, almost as if he had crossed the river."

The doctor stood up, "But the water flows so quickly!"

Syaoran stood up also. "It is true that we cannot cross, but… there is no other place except the castle to keep the children." The way Syaoran spoke made it seem like Glosum was the culprit, even though it was actually Dr. Kyle.

"Tonight, we are going to follow Mister Glosum," he stated.

"…No… Mister Glosum can't…" Dr. Kyle sat back down, as if in shock. He buried his face in his hands and his shoulder's shook. Anyone would have though he was in despair. Anyone except Syaoran and me. We could see him smiling to himself. He was thinking about how stupid we were, no doubt.

Syaoran looked out the window and pointed out that it looked like it would snow tonight. Then he led Dr. Kyle out of the room. Just before he left, Syaoran stared at the bookshelf. He was hinting for me to get the doctor's records. As the two walked out, I pulled the book from the shelf. I curled the book and stuffed it between my leg and Fai's shoe. It slid all the way down to my knee and every step was uncomfortable, but at least it was hidden. After I pulled my skirt down, I too left the room.

That night, we stayed at Glosum's house. I was reading Dr. Kyle's book and the records the mayor gave us, comparing them. While I did that, Syaoran read the history book Kurogane got from Glosum. As the 2 of us read, Fai and Mokona teased Kurogane.

"Be quiet!" I scolded, temporarily looking up from my books. "You two are supposed to get Mokona ready!"

"But Mokona _is_ ready!" Fai said.

"Then get going!"

"Oh~ kay~!" Mokona and Fai chanted. Then they pranced out the door.

"Kurogane-san," I said, "please make sure they don't get caught."

Kurogane nodded. "I'll meet you guys at the castle then."

"Okay," Syaoran and I said in unison. Then he left. I turned back to the book. I was practically done, just a line or two left. "Syaoran-kun," I began, "Dr. Kyle saw every single child right before they disappeared."

Syaoran looked up from the history book and said, "The history book the mayor gave us is missing a bunch of pages. And the only other person to borrow it recently besides us is the doctor."

"How was Mister Glosum's copy?"

"It has all the pages. It says that there are a lot of tunnels under the castle. If there was a dam, then the water from the river could be re-channeled through the tunnels." We continued to talk until it started to snow. Then we got ready to leave.

I put the books in Syaoran's sack then got our coats as he opened the door and waited for me. After we put on our coats, we left for Dr. Kyle's house. We hid by the tree and waited for him to come out. When he did, we stayed hidden and stealthily followed him. He was in his black cloak and was walking to the castle. When he spotted what he thought was the little boy from earlier that day (it was actually Mokona on a pair of stilts, disguised as that boy), he trailed after him. But when the 'boy' collapsed into a mere cloak and shoes, the doctor took a step back in surprise. Then Syaoran stepped onto the roots of a tree, not bothering to hide anymore.

"Is something wrong," Syaoran asked, "Dr. Kyle?"

The man in the cloak turned around, revealing a young, handsome face and round spectacles. It was indeed Dr. Kyle. He pulled down his hood and cried, "I was simply worried about that child, so I followed him! Mister Glosum is a suspect! That is why…!!"

To Dr. Kyle's surprise, Glosum stepped from the shadows. "Mister Glosum?!?! Why are you here?!?!" The doctor was even more surprised than I thought he'd be.

"It wasn't Mister Glosum," I said, stepping next to Syaoran. "His being seen soaking wet is actually proof of that."

"I have searched countless times and could not find them," Glosum explained, "So I thought that the only place they could be was at the castle. But the river is too strong and no one can cross. I tried to find another entrance, but…"

"You fell into the river," Syaoran finished then turned back to the doctor. "The culprit would know an easier way to cross." He reached into his sack and pulled out a couple of books. "This is the book of records the mayor lent us. It contains the name, age, and date each child disappeared," he said as he held up one. Then he held up the other one and continued, "And these are your medical records, Dr. Kyle." Syaoran passed the two books to me.

"By comparing these two records," I said, feeling very much like a detective, "we noticed that you saw every single one of those children one or two days before they disappeared. Every… single… one…"

"Th-that is just a coincidence!" Dr. Kyle cried.

When I heard the doctor say that, I couldn't help but grin. "In this world, there is no such thing as coincidence. There is only 'hitsuzen,'" I said mysteriously. Dr. Kyle gave me a look. Meanwhile, Syaoran continued speaking.

"The first child disappeared after you gave them a physical exam. After that, you targeted the friends of that child. You hid behind the explanation that they needed to be calmed or comforted. Yuki-san?"

"I found you medical records on a bookshelf. While I was looking for it, I saw a couple books about hypnotism," I said on cue.

"That boy you were treating earlier today pointed to the sky and said something: a black bird. But when we followed his gaze, there weren't any birds."

"You were hypnotizing the children. You made them leave their own house to follow an imaginary bird on a snowy night so their footprints disappeared."

Dr. Kyle looked down. His long black hair covered his eyes. "So where are the children now?" he asked darkly.

"Most likely in the castle," Syaoran answered. "By crossing the river you stopped the flow of."

As the boy spoke, the river slowed and became still. Glosum was caught by surprise. "What happened?! Why did the river stop?!" Syaoran reached into his sack and pulled out a couple more books.

"This book," he held up one, "was the history book the Mayor let us borrow. It appears you borrowed this book as well." He opened the book to a certain spot. "There are a couple of pages missing here. No one would notice them." He handed the book to me and held up the other one. "And this is Mister Glosum's copy of the same book. No pages were missing. Mister Glosum didn't think well of us."

"It's true that I don't get along with the other villagers, so I thought that no one would come to borrow it from me," the man explained.

Syaoran continued, "Those missing pages contained information about several underground passages and rooms in this castle; one of which is an underground waterway.

"If there really is an underground waterway, then there must be a place to stop the river and re-channel it beneath the castle."

Just as the boy finished speaking, a breezy voice called to us. "Hey~! Did the water stop~?" It was Fai. He was accompanied by Kurogane and a vigilante with defeated eyes. "The dam was right where you said: up the river! It was hidden and super old, but it worked, right?"

As I looked at everyone's expressions, I saw that they were all different. Playful, serious, stern, defeated, and disappointed faces belonged to Fai, Syaoran, Kurogane, the vigilante, and Glosum. I couldn't see what kind of expression Dr. Kyle was wearing because I couldn't see his face; he was covering it with his hand and kept his head down. If you looked carefully, you could see that he was trembling. I couldn't tell if it was from the cold, guilt, or mockery.

"Doctor!!" the vigilante shouted loudly as he stepped forward, "That's not it, right Doctor?! You being the one who kidnapped those kids, THAT'S A LIE, RIGHT?!?!"

Dr. Kyle slowly lifted his head up… then laughed! He was laughing at us! It wasn't even an evil laugh! I swear, he laughed so hard, I thought those spectacles of his would fall of his face.

"Goodness," he smirked, "My plan was going perfectly until now. And you outsiders came at the perfect time; I was going to frame you for the kidnapping of the children. Then I was going to get that thing I wanted then leave this wretched little town!"

The vigilante stepped back in disbelief. Poor guy. He must have been in shock. The doctor he looked up to turned out to be a bad guy.

"So it really was you?!" Glosum asked as he stood protectively in front of the emotionally wounded vigilante.

"See, there is something in that castle that I want," Dr. Kyle explained with a smug grin, "But it is a tad hard to reach. Unless you were a child, it is impossible."

"How could you use children for something like that?!" Glosum was outraged.

"'Something like that?'" the doctor began to walk backwards slowly toward the edge of the river. "It is because you don't know its power that you say such foolish things!" Then he turned around and jumped into the river… or so it seemed.

Just before Dr. Kyle's foot left the edge, Mokona popped out of the cloak and threw glowing powder on his shoe. He didn't notice and he began to run on the water. Glosum and the vigilante were very surprised.

"He's running on water?!" shouted Glosum.

"No," Syaoran said as he hopped down closer to the water, "The doctor's footsteps are glowing. There's a rock bridge under the water." He stepped onto that bridge.

I went to Fai and Kurogane, who were whispering to Mokona. Right when Mokona hid in Kurogane's sleeves, I grabbed their hands and pulled them to the edge of the water in time for them to hear Syaoran say, "Let's follow him," with a strong, determined voice.

We all crossed the river by running on those rocks, Syaoran first and me last (I had to get rid of my coat and gather my stupid skirts). Dr. Kyle's footprints were very easy to find; they glowed brightly among the fallen pillars inside the castle, which was just as ruined as it appeared on the outside.

Syaoran pointed to a staircase leading underground. "The rest of this castle is in ruins. If you're going to hold children here, it would be down there!" He ran full speed down those stairs. The rest of us followed. Again, I was last (stupid skirt).

At one point, I gave up. Halfway down the stairs, I ripped my skirt so that it was only down to my knees. After my little strip-tease, it was much easier to run and I was able to catch up to everyone else.

"The footprints are gone!" shouted the vigilante as I caught up to the rest of the group.

Kurogane glanced around and spotted a pair of glowing shoes. "He noticed and took em off," he observed.

"There are more footprints," Syaoran said, kneeling down to inspect the floor.

"The children's?!" yelled Glosum in worry.

"Seems like he didn't have time to hide these, huh," Fai said breezily.

Syaoran pointed toward a tunnel with more stairs. "They're heading that way." He stood up and ran in the direction he pointed in.

As we approached the end of the tunnel, we could hear Dr. Kyle say, "But I will finally have it in my possession!" After he spoke, there was a short scream and then a thud.

"Princess Sakura!!!" Syaoran shrieked in alarm as he burst into the room at the end of the tunnel. Dr. Kyle was holding a chain connected to a shackle around Sakura's ankle. She was clutching a large block of ice with her feather frozen in it. The doctor pulled the chain and dragged Sakura closer to him. Then he pulled out a knife and held it to her throat. Syaoran winced when he saw her in such a dangerous situation.

"Don't come any closer!" Dr. Kyle threatened. "If I had this feather, I could take over the town, no, the whole country! After all, 300 years ago that Golden-haired Princess saved the children of the village."

The vigilante was confused. "But didn't the Golden-haired Princess kidnap those children and kill them?!"

"If she had planned to kill them," said Dr. Kyle with the knife still held to Sakura's neck, "then there wouldn't be a purpose for a room like this." I took a look around. There were swing sets, rocking horses, and toy boxes everywhere. They were old and impossible to use, but 300 years ago, this place would've been the perfect playroom for several children.

"Now that I think about it," Fai said, folding his arms, "we saw lots of rooms with lots of beds in them on our way here."

Glosum grit his teeth. "They were for the children who stayed here in the castle."

"But as soon as she got that feather, the king and queen died!!!" the vigilante shouted in defiance.

Sakura, who was still being held hostage, stared at a patch of air to her right. "No. That's not it," she said softly. Then she was silent, as if she was listening to someone, but no one was speaking. "So," she raised her voice to the invisible being, "by 'they disappeared and didn't return the same,' they meant…!"

Next to me, I heard Fai wonder to himself out loud, "Who is Sakura-chan talking to?"

Dr. Kyle was becoming impatient. "I do not have time for my hostage to be speaking with hallucinations!!" He lifted the knife high over his head and started to bring it down. "Give me that feather!!!"

"Stop!!!!" Syaoran shrieked. Just before the doctor could hurt Sakura, Syaoran shielded her and pushed her out of the way. Unfortunately, he was stabbed in the shoulder by the knife.

Suddenly, there was a loud rumbling coming from all around and the ground was shaking violently.

"What's that sound?" Fai asked, looking around.

"An earthquake?" wondered Kurogane.

"No!" Syaoran shouted alarmingly, "It's…!" He didn't finish his sentence because the water broke through the wall and began to gush through the hole it made. Syaoran stomped on Sakura's chain and broke it so she could move around freely. "The dam rechanneling the water must have broke!"

"Oh, yeah! That thing was pretty old," Fai said in realization. "If you stop the water too long, it would break."

Syaoran guided Sakura toward us, but because of the ground shaking, they couldn't move very quickly. The ceiling was coming down and that didn't exactly help either.

The vigilante looked up and screamed at Syaoran, "LOOK OUT!" A large piece of the stone fell from the ceiling and blocked the path between them and us. They were trapped… with Dr. Kyle.

"Please take the children!" Syaoran shouted over his shoulder. "I promise we'll leave this castle alive!! Please leave before us!!!"

"But…!!!" Glosum began, but Kurogane cut him off.

"Let's go," he said calmly.

"Okay~" Fai replied, swinging the book sack, which had fallen on the floor when Syaoran saved Sakura, on his shoulder. The vigilante was shocked. He couldn't understand why we were leaving our "buddies."

"Syaoran-kun _always_ keeps his promises," I told him. He didn't know how to respond, so he picked up one of the children. Glosum did the same. I didn't carry any one, but I stayed in the back and ushered the children who fell behind.

We got out of the castle quickly, even though several children fell asleep on the way and we all had to carry at least one of them. I struggled to stay awake myself.

When we crossed the river, we laid the children down on the ground. Glosum took off his coat and covered them with it. He watched over them as the rest of us waited for Syaoran, Sakura, and even Dr. Kyle, but they still didn't show up.

"Hey! They're not coming!" shouted the vigilante. "And the river's flowing faster!"

"At this rate, they won't be able to cross!" Glosum yelled.

"Are they really going to be alright?!"

Fai, Kurogane, and I were silent for a moment. Then Kurogane lifted his head and simply said, "They're here." As if on cue, a large splash appeared and a hand shot out of the water. It was Syaoran and Sakura. Kurogane grasped the boy's hand and pulled the two out of the water.

"Hyuu~!" Fai pretended to whistle. "You did it, Syaoran-kun!"

The vigilante demanded to know what happened to the doctor.

"I-I… d-don't … know-w.." Syaoran chattered.

Fai turned to look at the castle. "If he's not coming, then…" Just before he could finish, the castle collapsed. "He shared the same fate as the castle… perhaps?"

I noticed Sakura open her eyes and look at the children as I got my coat (hanging from the branch where I had left it). While I covered the children, Sakura's eyes moved around, like she was following something. I walked over to her. I kneeled down next to her then followed her gaze. There was nothing there. When I looked back, I saw the ice surrounding her feather melt. She absorbed the feather and fell asleep.

"Looks like we got one more," Fai said, taking off his coat and laying it over Sakura. Kurogane took off his and covered Syaoran with it. "By the way Yuki-chan, what happened to your skirt?" asked the pale-haired wizard.

I glanced down at myself. My gown was torn in a way so that it was about knee-length. I was wearing Fai's boots and those were too big so it looked out of place. My sleeves were ripped and my top was dirty. Frankly, I was a mess.

"I ripped it because it was getting in the way," I answered bluntly. Then I took out Sakura's pin and squeezed the water from her hair so that it was at least a little less wet. Next, I worked on Syaoran's super thick hair. "Don't want to get sick like I did, do you?" I asked when he looked at me skeptically. When I was done, I stood up next to Kurogane and looked up at him. Then I grinned.

"What's so funny?" Kurogane grunted.

"…Nothing!" I answered playfully. His tough expression immediately became confused. I was actually recalling that in the next world, he would be called 'Big Puppy.' Then that got me thinking. He and Syaoran were 'Big Puppy' and 'Little Puppy.' Fai and Sakura were 'Big Kitty' and 'Little Kitty.' I needed to start thinking of some names for myself.

A tap on the shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts. It was Fai. "Did you know that it was Dr. Kyle all along?" he asked.

"Yeah." Before either of us could say any more, the children began waking up.

"Mama, I'm hungry."

"Where's my shoes?"

"It's cold!"

It seemed like they were no longer hypnotized. Glosum's expression was of pure relief. The children were safe and back to normal. They were no longer under the doctor's spell.

I stood up. "Good morning, everyone!" I said cheerfully. "My name is Yuki-nee-san! My friends and I will be escorting you home!"

"We're going home?" a boy asked hopefully.

"You betcha!" I gave them a thumbs-up and a big smile. Fai followed my lead.

"Hello! I'm Fai-nii-san! Just follow me and Yuki-nee-san!" We led the children to the outskirts of the town and let them run home. Turns out the adults were out looking for them. The children ran into their joyful parents' arms. Meanwhile, Kurogane, Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Mokona, and I returned to Dr. Kyle's house where we were staying.

Mokona and I dressed Sakura into a night gown from the closet in the girls' room wile the boys stayed in their room. When I was done dressing her and tucking her into bed, I called the boys in. Mokona hopped onto the open windowsill. "Everyone's so happy!" she exclaimed.

"And it doesn't seem like Dr. Kyle hurt them," Fai added.

Kurogane placed his hands on his hips. "It's because he needed them to get the feather. Of course he's not gonna hurt them."

"However," the wizard continued, "to think that Dr. Kyle knew hypnotism… And by the way, what about Princess Emeraude? The one Sakura-chan saw? Did the doctor hypnotize Sakura-chan?"

"I don't think so," said Syaoran.

"Then was it the feather?"

"Hm… if it was, then I think Mokona would have known…" the little white creature said.

"I think Princess Sakura might have seen Princess Emeraude's 'spirit.'" Syaoran looked at her lovingly and continued. "Even when she was small, Princess Sakura could see and even speak to those who have died."

"Is everyone in Clow like that?"

"No. The only ones I know of who can are the High Priest and Princess Sakura."

"What about you, Syaoran-kun?" Syaoran shook his head. "Kuro-ruu?"

"Of course not."

"Yuki-chan?"

"I can't see them, but it really was Princess Emeraude." I held up my wrist as a way of further explanation.

"Hm. I don't have that power either," Fai said, rubbing his chin.

"If it's ghosts, then Mokona can't see or feel them." Mokona mimicked Fai's action.

"So that's how it is!"

"The one who can see ghosts is the black Mokona with the blue earring!" Mokona squealed.

Kurogane searched his memory. "I remember seeing something like that. A black pork bun. You sure don't do much, white pork bun."

Mokona hopped to Kurogane and whacked him multiple times with her long ears. "But Mokona worked hard, so it's okay!" she pouted. Then she grabbed one of the stilts from her disguise and hit him with it. Kurogane became angry.

"What the heck are you doing?!" he shouted.

I decided to leave the room before things got out of hand. So downstairs I went into Dr. Kyle's office to look through his books. Then it occurred to me that we might need a first aid kit or something in the future. I looked for a box and filled it with medicine, disinfectant, bandages, and other things like that. Just before I left the room, my bracelet shocked me lightly. I glanced down at it and saw that the jewel was glowing. I lifted my wrist and waited for Yuuko's image to appear.

"Hello, Yuki-chan," the beautiful woman said.

"Hi, Yuuko-san. How's Japan?"

"Fine. Watanuki is dealing with a college student."

"The one with the monkey's paw?"

"Yes."

"I see." I recalled that the college student died. "Um, so… did you need something, Yuuko-san?"

Yuuko nodded. "Yes. I wanted to discuss what you'll call yourself in Outo, although it's actually Edonis." In my mind I was thinking something along the lines of: is that all you wanted to ask? "So… did you think of a name yet? If not, can I name you?" the woman asked with puppy-dog eyes.

What could I say? "Um… I didn't come up with a name. So, what did you have in mind?"

"Black Cat!!!" Yuuko exclaimed in delight. "Just like the manga!!"

I sweat-dropped. "That 'Number 13' guy? Train? Kuroneko? _That_ Black Cat?"

"Yes! I picked it up at a bookstore and fell in love with it! Please~ make that you name? Please~~~~~???" She made puppy-dog eyes at me again.

"O-okay," I responded. Yuuko shrieked with glee.

"Alright," she said, back to her normal, mysterious self. "Good-bye, Yuki-chan."

"Good-bye." And then her image disappeared and the jewel stopped glowing. I sighed then headed back upstairs. When I returned, feathers were everywhere. Mokona was still trying to hit Kurogane with a stild. Kurogane was trying to counterattack with a pillow (so that's where the feathers came from). Syaoran and Fai were laughing and pulling feathers from their hair. I could only stand, frozen. Then Kurogane threw the pillow at Mokona but accidentally hit me instead. Everyone was silent; they were waiting so see how I'd react. I picked up the pillow and grinned, "You're gonna get it, Kurogane-san!" Then I put the first aid kit down and began to whack him with the pillow. He grabbed another pillow and tried to protect himself with it. Everyone (except Kurogane, of course) was laughing.

Suddenly, Mokona exclaimed, "Sakura woke up!" The rest of us stopped what we were doing and looked to Sakura. Syaoran walked over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Sakura sat up, clutched the blanket, and whispered, "What did she mean by 'someone is… always watching…?'"

"Princess?" Syaoran was confused.

Sakura leaned forward, closer to the boy. "I need to meet Princess Emeraude one more time!" She got out of bed quickly, ignoring Syaoran's advice to rest.

I stood in the door, blocking her way. "Don't you want the people in town to know the truth about her first?" I asked with a straight face. "There's a pen and some paper. Syaoran or I can write a letter explaining what really happened. How her parents' death was an accident. How she used the feather to save the children from meeting the same fate. How those children returned to the town in perfect health." My words seemed to reach her. She sat back down on the bed and agreed. She explained the truth about Princess Emeraude while I got the pen and paper from Dr. Kyle's office. When I returned, Syaoran and Sakura worked on the letter. As soon as they were done, we all got ready to leave.

After we cleaned the two rooms, I changed back into my regular clothes (the ones Yuuko gave me) and gave Fai back his shoes; the dress that I was wearing was far too damaged to wear anymore. Syaoran left the letter on the bed then we all left the house quietly. The townspeople were busy embracing their children and we slipped away unnoticed. We walked quickly back to the castle, letting Sakura look for the princess.

"I can't find her anywhere!" Sakura exclaimed.

Mokona, who was on my head, said, "Before, Yuuko said, that once their duty was done, spirits leave and go somewhere else."

"They pass on," Kurogane summarized.

Fai took his hat off reverently and respectively. "The Golden-haired Princess was really worried about the children. Her duty must have been to watch over them." He put his hat back on. "But I wonder what she meant when she told Sakura-chan that 'someone is always watching.'"

Syaoran stepped forward. "There's something else that has been on my mind: How did Dr. Kyle know the feather was in the castle?"

"Wasn't it written in the book or something?" asked Kurogane.

"I asked Mister Glosum about that. He said that there were no records of the feather after Princess Emeraude died. No stories either."

Fai tipped his hat up with his finger and grinned slyly. "Seems like someone else knows about our little journey," he said.

"'Someone…'" Syaoran glanced around, checking to see if anyone was watching us that moment. I slapped him on the back and told him not to worry about it.

"I think you three should change so we can move onto the next world!" I suggested. Everyone agreed. There was an abandoned hut on the way out of the town known as 'Spirit.' They changed there. When they were one, Mokona cast her circle. Just before we moved onto the next world, I looked over my shoulder to the sign that marked the town. The fat man from the restaurant when we first arrived was there, just on his way out. He was a worker of Fai Wang Reed's.

I pushed dark thoughts out of my mind and concentrated on the next world: Outo.


	6. Outo

Outo

**I'M SO SOOOORRRRRYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm really really sorry for not updating for so long!!! TToTT I've been working really hard in school lately so I can get a 4.0 again this semester and I've also been working on the school production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by Shakespeare. (I play Snug the joiner or the Lion, by the way...) Please feel free to criticize my lateness...**

**Anyway, I mention a few different anime/manga in this chapter, so if you don't know what something is, go ahead and look it up. If you don't want to, then that's okay too; I don't think you need to know, but it may help a little.**

**Again, I'm really really really really really really really really really really really sorry for not updating... Wow. I just said a lot of 'really's...' Must be the Japan in me... (This is the Japan from Hetalia Axis Powers, by the way, for those of you who know what it is... Osoreirimasu, sumimasen... -_-# ) Okay....I'll let you guys read now... bye... I PROMISE TO UPDATE SOONER NEXT TIME!!!!!!! **

**Well.... enjoy! ^_^**

We landed in the country of Outo. I couldn't remember anything about what happened in Edonis, but I knew they happened. To Syaoran, Sakura, Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona, this was just another new country. To me, it was a virtual reality game.

Mokona's wings disappeared and she landed on my head, crawling onto my shoulder.

"Let's see," Fai said, "I wonder what kind of country this is…"

5 pairs of black stiletto boots stomped in front of us. They belonged to 5 very pretty women. I recalled that in the manga, there were only 4 women. Apparently, my being here meant there was one more person here to greet us. "Welcome to the country of Outo!" they exclaimed in unison.

What happened next was really fast. The girls suddenly hugged us! A cute girl with braids got Sakura. Syaoran was confused also. Kurogane didn't really care (he just wanted them to get away). And Fai was flirting. I simply remained silent.

"You're wearing some strange clothes," one of the girls said. "Are you from different worlds?" Everyone was surprised to hear her comment.

"Have people from different worlds come to this country before?!" Syaoran demanded politely.

"But of course. People come from many different countries to enjoy this one."

"The girl hugging Syaoran asked, "Have you registered yet?"

"Registered?" the boy she was hugging stared at her blankly.

Four of the girls let go of us quickly and exclaimed, "We cannot let this go on! We must take you to city hall! Follow us! Follow us!" Mokona, Fai, and I were willing to go along. Sakura and Syaoran were still confused. And Kurogane was trying to shake the fifth girl off of him.

All five girls took us to city hall. After they left, things calmed down a bit. Fai, Syaoran, and I spoke with the information girl, who was very nice, although she reminded me of a robot; she was to… perfect.

"Welcome to Outo!" the information girl greeted. "Please write you names here." She pushed a piece of paper in front of Fai. "You may use aliases if you prefer."

Fai was getting some ideas. "A~nything we want?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then I'll just write everyone's names!" He had a gleam in his eye. Syaoran saw what he was doing and began to fret; he had no idea what to do. Just before Fai wrote (drew) my name/alias, I tapped him on the shoulder and whispered what I wanted my name to be (Black Cat). He grinned at me and wrote (drew) it on the paper.

The information girl took the paper when he was done. "I have accepted you names, sir. You may now choose your line of work."

Fai cocked his head to one side. "Travelers need to work too?"

"We do not mind, but if you do not work, you cannot earn money. Therefore, you cannot do anything."

"Hm… That's true…"

"You may choose you home first if you prefer." She pushed another paper in front of Fai, who quickly filled it out. "You have chosen a nice home, sir."

Something had been bugging Syaoran. He leaned forward and asked the information girl what the currency of this country was. It was 'En.' Fai pointed out that we didn't have any. The information girl told us that if we had something of value, we could trade it in for 'En.'

"In that case…" Fai said to himself. Then he turned around and called, "Kuro-wan-wa~~~~~n!!! Fetch the bag please~~!"

Kurogane angrily grabbed a bag (of clothes that Mokona flew from her mouth) and stomped his way over, yelling, "Don't talk to people like they're dogs!!!"

"Hey!" I scolded, "Be quiet! There are other people here!" As I lectured Kurogane, I could hear people snickering at us. When I was done, I took the bag from him and ordered him to sit down nicely. Then I traded the contents of the bag with the information girl, who gave us a little, flat block shaped like a sakura flower. It was similar to a credit card.

We were escorted to our new house by two male workers. They left quickly.

The house was very big, two stories high. The only piece of furniture was a couch where Sakura was struggling to stay awake.

"Good thing we held onto the clothes from Jade and Koryo. It's because we listened to Syaoran-kun!" Fai grinned.

"There are often things you could use from one country in another," Syaoran explained as he unfolded the blanket one of the escorts gave us.

"Is that a lesson from your dad when you were traveling?"

"Yes."

Kurogane turned from the window to us. "Hey. You really think it's alright to be so relaxed? Isn't someone spying on us or something?"

"Hm… Well it's impossible to be uptight all the time…" Fai squeezed his large, thick coat and rolled around, "we should relax whenever we can~!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kurogane shouted.

I put my finger to my lips and shushed him. Everyone was busy talking so they didn't notice Sakura fall asleep on the couch. Fai pointed out that the only place to sleep had been captured. Then he signaled to Mokona, who said, "It's really, really faint, but I can sense Sakura's feather's power. The feather is in this country."

Before anyone could say any more, there was a loud crash. A large black creature smashed through the window. Kurogane grabbed Sakura from the couch and dodged the creature's attack just in time.

"Wow! We just came here and we suddenly have a customer!" Fai said breezily, despite the danger we were in.

Kurogane grunted, "Stop kidding around."

The creature attacked again. Just before it got me, Fai grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way. Syaoran dashed forward and fought the creature. He defeated it with a strong kick to the head, but injured his forearm in the process.

"Nice work!" Fai said. He walked closer to the defeated creature. "Pretty girls greet us and we got a nice house, so I thought this was a nice little country, but it looks like it's pretty dangerous." We stared at the creature silently. Suddenly, it began to melt and fade away.

Syaoran was alarmed and confused. "It disappeared?!" Everyone was trying to figure out why in their heads.

"Yup. It really does seem like a dangerous country," Fai murmured. "Now then!" he exclaimed more playfully, "Let's clean up and go to sleep!"

I immediately went to work. I cleaned off the couch so Kurogane could put the sleeping Sakura down. Then while Fai and Kurogane cleared away the debris from when the creature invited itself from the window, I bandaged Syaoran's arm with the supplies from the (stolen) first-aid kit. After that, we all lay down and went to sleep. I must say, it felt a little odd sleeping between Syaoran and Fai, but it was very cold and Fai had his warm fuzzy coat.

Early the next morning, Fai, Syaoran, and Mokona went back to city hall. Kurogane and I stayed home with Sakura. We tried fixing the window, but without any tools, it was impossible. So he taught me some self-defense moves instead. I took karate lessons as a kid, so I was vaguely familiar with it. Of course, I only took karate for a few years. By the time the other 3 came back, I learned several new moves and techniques.

"We're back!!!" Fai chanted as he walked in through the gaping hole in the wall. Syaoran followed hesitantly. They were carrying large, bulging sacks. The wizard knelt down next to Kurogane and patted the ninja's head. "Were you being a good boy, Kuro-wanta? We brought back presents!"

"Stop treating me like a dog!" Kurogane shouted.

"We chose a job for you!"

"Huh?"

"Syaoran-kun and Kuro-wan are gonna defeat the Oni. And then, they're gonna make some money. And then…"

Kurogane completely ignored Fai and said to Syaoran, "Kid, explain." Syaoran began to tell Kurogane what Oni were. Fai watched them silently for a moment. Then he dramatically complained that "Kuro-wankoro" was leaving him out.

"Shaddup!" yelled Kurogane, "Stop fake-crying!" Poor Syaoran didn't know what to do. I sat down next to Fai and gently told him to be quiet while Syaoran explained. He listened. When Syaoran was done explaining what his and Kurogane's job was, the ninja grinned. It was an evil grin and it kind of creeped me out. "I see," he said, getting worked up. "Oni-hunters, huh? Looks like I can get some fighting done." He stood up and walked over to Syaoran, who stood up also. "But… you fine with that?"

Syaoran was confused. "Eh?"

"Those things, Oni, I don't know how strong they are. And if you can only earn money by defeating them, then we're practically on our own." Kurogane grabbed Syaoran's thick bangs and pulled them away from his eyes. "You… You're right eye's blind." Fai whipped his head toward the two of them, surprised. I remained still as Kurogane explained how he came to that conclusion by observing Syaoran's fighting style. He let go of Syaoran's hair. "If we come across a stronger Oni, then you might not escape with just a few scratches."

Syaoran was just as serious as Kurogane. "… I will try my best not to get in your way. Onegaishimasu." He bowed.

Fai, who had been watching the whole time, said, "It's okay, right? Kuro-sama?" Kurogane simply grunted in response.

"Thank you very much!" Syaoran said gratefully. Then he looked back at the sleeping Sakura with gentle eyes.

Afterwards, Fai pulled out the contents of the bags. They were filled with clothes.

"Here Yuki-chan! This one's yours!" Fai held up a black and white Goth-Lolita maid outfit. "I figured I should choose something that matched your name."

I was delighted. "Thank you so much, Fai-san!" I accepted the clothes.

"Here's a pair of black boots too." He handed them to me. "Go get changed!"

"Okay!" I dashed to one of the rooms and changed. When I stepped back into the room, I gave a little twirl. "How is it?" I asked.

Fai walked up to me. "Hm… Good, but needs a little something. Turn around." He did my hair for me. Where he got the black ribbons and brush, I had no idea. Anyway, he made my hair like Death Note's Misa, probably because my hair was too short to put it in 2 normal ponytails. "And now, for the finishing touch," Fai said when he was done with my hair. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver chain necklace with the Roman numeral for 13 on it. He put it around my neck then said with a sense of accomplishment, "Yay! All done!"

I turned around to face him. "How is it?" I asked.

He was about to ruffle my hair, but laid his hand on my shoulder instead. "Perfect," he told me with a kind smile. I smiled back and suggested that he should change too. He did as I said.

Fai left the room a giddy wizard and returned a handsome gentleman. He must have seen me blush lightly because he bowed to me and said in an attractive voice, "Good day, my lady." Then he wiggled his eyebrows and made me giggle.

Afterwards Syaoran and Kurogane changed too. While they were doing so, a whole bunch of men came in with chairs, tables, stools, kitchen supplies, curtains, beds, food, and other things like that.

"Yay! Everything's here!" Fai clapped. The two of us set up the tables and chairs and put the food and utensils away in the kitchen. When Syaoran and Kurogane came out dressed in a junior high uniform and a _hakama_, I asked them to help out. The boys took the beds upstairs while I replaced the glass in the broken windows. They came downstairs just when I was getting started on covering the windows with curtains. Kurogane helped me. Meanwhile, Fai made some tea and Syaoran covered the tables with table cloths.

While we were finishing up our various jobs, Sakura woke up. Syaoran noticed first. "Are you awake?" he asked.

"Um… Yeah, uh… this…" Sakura was obviously confused and surprised. Fai explained to her where all the stuff came from.

"We even got some clothes from this country," he continued, "But I have no idea what Kuro-run's wearing."

"It's a _hakama_," Kurogane grumbled.

Syaoran looked up at him and asked, "Did your country have similarly styled clothes, Kurogane-san?"

"Eh. Something close to it at least. So, what the heck are you wearing?" The question was directed at our happy-go-lucky blonde.

Fai pointed to himself, "The information girl said that for my job, something like this would be best! I was thinking we could run a café here. We could ask the customers about strange stories that might nave something to do with the feather."

Mokona, who was dressed up in a doll's apron, hopped over. "I'm gonna help!" she sqealed.

"So am I," I gestured to myself.

"Yep! Sakura-chan, you should help us with the café too!" Fai encouraged.

Sakura bowed and said, "Yes, I'll do my best."

Fai grabbed one of the bags of clothes and exclaimed, "Alright-y! Let's go get changed!"

"Huh? Huh?" Sakura was so confused. I took the bag from Fai and helped her change in a separate room. When she was done, we came out together.

"Is this okay?" she asked modestly. She was wearing a cross between a kimono and a maid dress. I thought she looked really, really cute. She walked up to Syaoran. "It's not… weird… is it?" Syaoran blushed and shook his head fiercely. "Are you doing the same as me, Syaoran-kun?"

"No. Kurogane-san and I are doing a different job."

"Please be careful," Sakura pleaded, "so you don't get hurt." Syaoran's eyes widened slightly. Then he smiled and promised her that he would.

Suddenly, Mokona's eyes grew very large. "Mekyo!" And a plate of desserts shot out of her mouth. Everyone gathered around the table where the plate landed.

"What is it?" Fai wondered.

"It's from Yuuko!" Mokona said.

"Could it be a present?" the pale-haired waiter said hopefully.

"There's no way that witch would give us anything for free!" Kurogane argued.

"But it looks so good."

While the others were gathered around the plate, I set some forks on the table and filled six cups of tea.

"This is chocolate fondant!" explained Mokona. "There's chocolate inside and you heat it up and eat it!"

Fai was eager to try it. "Let's all have some! Yuki-chan even poured some tea for us!"

Kurogane on the other hand, grumbled, "I don't want any…" of course, Fai didn't listen to his request. While the ninja was talking, Fai popped some of the chocolate fondant into Kurogane's mouth. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!" Kurogane shrieked. Fai simply laughed. Mokona added to Kurogane's frustration by saying that she was going to tell Yuuko. I ignored them and ate my share. Poor Syaoran and Sakura; they had no idea how to react.

When I finished eating, I washed my dishes. Then I washed everyone else's dishes. Then I cleaned the table. Before I knew it, the sun was setting. Syaoran and Kurogane left to do some Oni-hunting. The rest of us stayed home. We all made chocolate cake together. When we put it in the oven to bake, Fai asked me, "Yuki-chan, I know you're good at building things. Can you build me a sign?" I nodded and got straight to work. It was really easy. All I had to do was nail a couple of pieces of wood together and I was done! I searched the boxes of stuff that were still lying around and found some large papers, paint, and several paint brushes.

"Here you go, Fai-san," I said as I handed him the supplies. Then I lay the papers down so the floor wouldn't get paint all over. After I set the wooden sign down on top of the papers, I let Fai do his thing. He made cat noises the entire time.

He was just about done with the sign when Kurogane burst through the door screaming, "DAMN YOU!!!" at Fai, who grinned and welcomed him back.

"HOW DARE YOU GIVE ME A NAME LIKE THAT!!!"

Fai grabbed a smaller paintbrush and began painting something on one of the clean papers. "The information girl said we could use aliases, but since I don't know how to write in their language, I drew this instead!" He held up his picture of 2 dogs. "Your names are 'Big Puppy' and 'Little Puppy!'" He grabbed another paper and painted on that one too. "And then… I'm this… and Sakura-chan's this…and Yuki-chan's this… We're 'Big Kitty' and 'Little Kitty!' Yuki-chan wanted hers to be 'Black Cat,' so that one's hers!" He pointed to each cat/kitty respectively. Then he held up the sign. "And since we're all kitties, I made this café a kitty too!"

Kurogane suddenly pulled out his sword and chased Fai around the house. "I'm gonna cut open that useless head of yours and slice your brain to ribbons!!"

"Ah~! 'Big Puppy's' mad!" Fai teased, easily dodging Kurogane.

While the two were running around, a girl about my age with short black hair, a dog, and a man old enough to be the girl's father walked in.

"What a cute place!" the girl squealed. "Your house is great, 'Little Puppy'-san!"

The man sniffed the air. "Something sure smells good."

"It's chocolate cake. We haven't opened the shop yet, but you're welcome to try it," I offered. The two strangers' faces lit up and they agreed.

The man, a little bashful, said, "Sorry for barging in, 'Big Puppy.'"

Kurogane gripped his sword even tighter and shouted, "I'M NOT A PUPPY!" I sighed and led our customers to the table. Then I whipped my head at Fai and Kurogane and gave them a dark look.

"So what are your names?" I smiled as I turned back to the girl and the man who accompanied her (hm… maybe it was the other way around…. Oh, well!).

"I'm Yuzuriha Nekoi! 14 years old! I'm an Oni-Hunter!"

"And I'm Kusanagi Shiyuu."

I gestured to each person respectively. "I'm called 'Black Cat.' He's 'Big Kitty,' and she's 'Little Kitty.' You two seem to have already met 'Big Puppy' and 'Little Puppy.'" Kurogane was about to wield his sword again, but I pulled on his cheek so that it stretched in a way only possible in manga. Then I let go and got everything ready. Fai served the cake and Sakura served the tea. She was going to need practice carrying the tray; she was very wobbly.

"It's so good~~~!!!" Yuzuriha squealed girlishly.

Fai smiled, obviously pleased. "That's good. I tried following Mokona's advice and added whip cream."

"I need to let the other Oni-Hunters know about this café. It's great!" Kusanagi said.

Sakura and Yuzuriha began talking together while I played with the dog; it was so~ cute! I listened to Yuzuriha explain everything they needed to know about Oni and how all the Oni-Hunters were working to defeat the 'First I' Oni, the strongest of all Oni.

Suddenly, the dog stopped wagging its tail and sniffed the air, serious. Yuzuriha jumped off her chair. "An Oni just appeared nearby!" she exclaimed. Then she pet her dog, "This guy can smell Oni if they're close."

Kusanagi pushed his and Yuzuriha's stools in and thanked us for the meal.

"Yeah! It was super good!" Yuzuriha complimented.

"How much is it?" the older Oni-Hunter asked Fai.

"Today's free!" he answered. "But please come again and tell us more stuff!"

"Alright. Next time, we'll have more things to tell you." And then he left. Just before she stepped out the door, Yuzuriha turned around.

"Bye-bye!" she waved.

Sakura waved back, "Bye!" I waved too, but didn't say anything.

That night, Syaoran retired to his room early, without even eating dinner. He said that he wanted to get some reading done. I ate quickly so I could make something for him. Fai did the same and we decided to make him some hot chocolate. We sent Sakura up to give it to him. Kurogane finished eating and I left the dishes for later; we all wanted to go upstairs to eavesdrop on Syaoran and Sakura.

"Even so… I'm sorry," Sakura was saying when we arrived upstairs and stood by their door.

"Princess Sakura…" Syaoran wasn't sure how to react to whatever she was apologizing for.

"When did we first meet?" she was becoming more emotional. "Could it be that we actually knew each other since we were small? And you're actually a very important person to…?!" Sakura's body suddenly became rigid and she collapsed into Syaoran's arms.

"Princess!"

A moment or two passed and Sakura seemed to return back to normal. "Just now… What was I talking about… That's right… I wanted to apologize to you…"

To those of us who were watching, it was a very sad scene.

"What was that?" Kurogane demanded quietly.

Fai looked into the distance. "Seems like… a 'price' is more painful than we thought," he said. "If someone told Sakura-chan about her relationship with Syaoran-kun, it would immediately be erased from her memory. It would be the same if she tried to remember it herself. Syaoran-kun must have known… that it would end up this way.

"Even if he were to return every single one of her feathers to her, she would never be able to remember him…"

"That's why he never told her how he knew her from the past," Kurogane said softly.

"It's because he's the kind of person who does what he says he's gonna do…" I whispered. We stayed there for a moment while Syaoran held Sakura, who was falling asleep. Then I took Fai and Kurogane's hands and pulled them away. They let me do so without any kind of a struggle.

When we got downstairs, we cleaned up the kitchen in silence then went to bed. While Kurogane was taking out the trash, a bunch of Oni attacked him, but he and Syaoran, who rushed downstairs when he heard the ruckus, defeated them. Afterwards, I was happy to finally relax, brush my teeth, and take a bath. Mokona slept with Syaoran that night.

The next morning, I woke up before everyone else. I changed into the same Goth-Lolita outfit from yesterday. I didn't know how to do the hairstyle Fai did for me, so I just braided a section of my hair and tied it with a black ribbon. The 'XIII' necklace was still around my neck; I never took it off.

After I finished changing, I made the bed. Then I went downstairs to set up the café. I swept the floor, wiped the tables, and pulled back the curtains, anything to make the place feel more welcome. Just before I began making breakfast, Kurogane, Syaoran, and Mokona came down.

"Good morning!" I smiled cheerfully.

Kurogane grumbled, Mokona greeted me, and Syaoran asked, "Can you please try to wake up Fai-san? I've tried but I couldn't do anything."

"I'll see what I can do." I put down the towel I was wiping my hands on and headed upstairs. I walked into Fai's room. He was lying on his stomach, fast asleep on his bed. "Fai-san." I tried nudging him awake. "Fai-san." No matter how hard I nudged him, he wouldn't wake up. After numerous failed attempts, I grew impatient. "Fai-san!!! Wake up!!!" I ripped the blankets away from him then pushed him off the bed. He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Huh? What?" Fai babbled, disoriented and sleepy. I got his clothes and ordered him to change. While he changed from his pajamas in the corner, I made his bed for him. When we were done, we went downstairs. Luckily, Fai was back to his breezy old self.

"Sorry for the wait, Big Puppy!" he waved as he entered the room.

"I'm not a puppy!!!"

"Now, now. No growling. I'll make breakfast for you. What'll it be? Dog biscuits or cat chow."

Kurogane, outraged, pulled out his sword was just about to attack Fai. But I stopped him by twisting his ear. And not only his; I twisted Fai's ear too.

"You are NOT going to fight!" I scolded. "I got up before the rest of you and set up the café all by myself! I will NOT have you two ruin it!" After twisting their ears for a few more seconds, I let them go. "No fighting," I reminded.

Fai rubbed his ear and grinned through the pain. "I'll make it up to you, Yuki-chan. How about I make breakfast?"

"Fine," I pouted, although I wasn't able to hold it for long. Fai made a goofy grin at me and I couldn't help but smile.

"I'll make your hair too," he said, turning me around. He took out my braid and made my hair in a half-up-half-down style. Then he went to go make breakfast. I took a seat next to Syaoran and waited. Fai returned with a plate of toasted bagels, cream cheese, strawberry jam, and hot tea. Back home, I never had such a glamorous breakfast. It was usually a plain piece of burnt toast and a quick glass of juice. Syaoran and I ate our breakfast eagerly. It was really, really good! But Kurogane had to make an effort to eat all of it. The food was rather sweet and he wasn't exactly a fan of sweet things. After we finished eating, the "Puppy Combo" (and Mokona), as Fai called them, left to do some Oni-hunting and whatnot.

"Is Sakura-chan still sleeping?" I asked when the three left.

"Yeah. I think so." Right after he said that, we could hear rushing footsteps upstairs. A minute or so later, those footsteps ran downstairs, tripped, banged something, then continued running. It was Sakura.

"Good morning!" she greeted in a stressed tone. I noticed there was a small bump on her head. That bang must have been her.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Fai and I said simultaneously.

"I'm so sorry for sleeping in!" she blushed in embarrassment as she rubbed her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Fai reassured, pouring her a cup of tea. "We didn't pick a time to open the shop yet. And Sakura-chan, you're still not completely back to normal."

"I'm going to try my best to wake up on time tomorrow!"

"I'll be cheering for you!" the wizard waved.

Sakura looked around. "Where are Moko-chan and Syaoran-kun and Kurogane-san?" As he made her breakfast, Fai explained that last night, Oni attacked, but they were defeated, so the Puppy Combo left to get their money. Sakura was shocked to hear that she slept through the whole thing. When she asked if anyone got hurt, he told her that Syaoran got a little scratched.

"Worried?" he questioned.

"… Yes. Syaoran-kun always works so hard to find my memories… But… I can't do anything… And sometimes, he seems so… lonely…"

I patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. It's not like you can't do anything."

"That's right," Fai added. "You should smile for him. I think it helps him feel much better." He set Sakura's food on a tray then pushed it in front of her, saying, "And I think this'll make you feel better, too. You must be hungry, so go ahead and eat. It's good if you put this on that…"

Sakura sat down on a stool. "Okay. Thank you very much. Itadakimasu!" She spread some jam and cream cheese on the bagel and took a bite. "It's so good!"

"Isn't it?" I grinned.

Fai was pleased. "Yay! That's great to hear!"

"Fai-san, you're amazing!" Sakura exclaimed. "You're good at drawing _and_ cooking!"

"Drawing is like casting magic spells," Fai explained, "and cooking is like making magic potions or medicine. Well, Syaoran-kun and Yuki-chan and Mokona like my food… It's just 'Big Puppy,' well…" Sakura cocked her head to one side, puzzled. I told her to ignore him. She hesitated then continued eating. After she was done, we cleaned up.

"Fai-san," I said, "I think we should come up with a list of things you can make so we can make a menu."

"Good idea! Here's a pen and paper, Yuki-chan. You make the list. Alright, let's see… cakes, scones, pancakes, cookies…" Fai gave a long list of things he could make. Altogether, we eliminated the ones that took a long time or were too difficult to make. When we finished, we had a list of food perfect for the menu of our café.

After we did our brainstorming, we were cooking and baking the whole day. Fai taught Sakura and me how to make all kinds of stuff. We were working on bread when the 'Puppies' and Mokona returned.

"We're back!!" Mokona squealed as she entered.

"Welcome home!!" Fai and I greeted in unison.

Sakura, who had flour on her face, wiped it off with the back of her hand and said, "Welcome home!"

"Thanks," Syaoran smiled.

Kurogane didn't say anything; he just stomped in and slammed the door behind him.

"Is Kuro-puppy still mad about breakfast?" Fai asked.

"Don't call me a puppy!!!" Kurogane obviously wasn't going to tell us what happened, so Syaoran did. He explained that right before they came back, they went to the information girl to see if Kurogane could get his name changed. Unfortunately for the ninja, in order to change his name, they would have to re-enter the country and all the money they earned so far would no longer be of value. When Fai heard the story, he laughed. "It's not funny!!!" Kurogane shouted, chasing the wizard around the shop with his sword.

Fai teased, "Why not? It's cute!"

"IT'S NOT!!! EVEN THAT WOMAN AT THE INTELLIGENCE STORE KNEW ABOUT IT!!!"

I let the two work out their problems for a while as I wiped down the counter. Then I walked calmly near them. Right when the two passed me, I stuck my foot out and tripped them so they fell. I scolded, "If you're gonna fight, take it outside!" the two adults glanced at each other and clamed down. "Fai-san, you need to finish teaching Sakura-chan and me how to make the bread. And Kurogane-san, you should tell us what Erii-san told you at the Intelligence House." No one asked how I knew about Erii, so I assumed they understood my 'price' to an extent.

While Fai instructed Sakura and me, Kurogane and Syaoran told us about how the Oni were acting strange lately and how an Oni Leader had appeared. There was a person who met this 'Leader.' If they went to a bar called 'Clover,' they could talk to her. But Syaoran was under-age and wouldn't be allowed inside. Fai offered to go in his place as he began demonstrating to me and Sakura how to make sponge cake.

"Thank you, Fai-san," Syaoran said, "I'll stay here with Yuki-san, Princess Sakura, and Mokona to take care of the shop."

"Syaoran-kun's so responsible," Fai remarked as he placed the cake in the oven. "No how about some dinner?" He pulled out a pot of soup, steamed vegetables, pasta, and spaghetti sauce. He heated it up and served it to us. Even if it wasn't exactly 'fresh,' it was still absolutely delicious. Even Kurogane didn't have a problem eating it at all. when we finished, Sakura wiped the table, Fai put the food away, Syaoran and I did the dishes, and Kurogane… stayed out of the way. After we finished cleaning up, I got Fai's jacket for him. Then I suggested he take something to defend himself with in case Oni showed up. I was thinking about his future foot injury.

"Good idea!" Fai grinned. He went to the dartboard, took out all ten darts, and stuffed them in his jacket pocket. "Okay! We'll be going now!" he waved as he dragged Kurogane out the door. "And Syaoran-kun, there's some work clothes in the closet. Feel free to change into them!"

"Okay," Syaoran nodded, "but before you go, here's a map. I marked all the places where Oni appear.:" He reached into his pocket and pulled out the folded map. "Here." He handed it ot Fai, who thanked him, then continued dragging Kurogane out the door. I told them to be careful.

When the two left, Sakura and I cleaned up the kitchen; it was covered with flour and eggshells and stuff. Syaoran offered to help, but I made him go upstairs and change. By the time he came down, we were done cleaning up.

"It's not… weird, is it?" he asked hesitantly.

In response, Sakura shook her head fiercely and I imitated Fai by pretending to whistle. "Hyuu! Hyuu! Syaoran-kun looks so smexy!" Both Syaoran and Sakura blushed. I laughed and left to check on the cake Fai taught us how to make. It would be almost done now. When I returned, Sakura was saying, "Let's all work hard while Fai-san while he's not here."

"Yes!" Syaoran replied. A moment later, the door opened and two people walked in. a tall, pretty, dark-skinned woman with jet-black hair entered the café accompanied by a 16-year-old boy with long, thick brown hair, a large object on his back, and a smirk on his face. I poured some water and sent Sakura to give it to them. I figured I should stay behind the counter to work.

"Welcome," Sakura said, struggling not to wobble the tray. She placed the cups of water in front of the customers as they sat down at one of the tables.

The boy caught sight of Syaoran. "Are you 'Little Puppy?'" he asked excitedly, standing up.

"Y-yes…" Syaoran answered rigidly.

"I'm Ryuu-Ou," the boy stated.  
"And I am Souma," added the woman.

Ryuu-Ou unwrapped the cloth from the object on his back. It was a large sword. "I heard you're strong," he grinned as he swung his sword at Syaoran, who dodged with ease and landed on the counter in front of me. While I tried catching the bottles and china that fell (I was able to save all of them because I was in a manga), Sakura cried out Syaoran's name in worry.

"Just like I heard," Ryuu-Ou continued, "Looks like I can fight as hard as I want." He swung his sword again multiple times, but Syaoran kept dodging. I set the bottles I had just saved down and walked to Ryuu-Ou.

"Excuse me, sir, if you're going to fight in here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," I told him. Unfortunately for me, he wasn't listening. He didn't even know I was there. "Sir? Can you even hear me?" This was getting frustrating.

As he ignored me, he held his sword straight in the air and shouted, "Kai-Ryuu…!!" Before he could finish, Kusanagi arrived and punched him on the head.

"Don't go around destroying people's houses!" the man scolded.

"Owww!!!" screamed Ryuu-Ou. Souma relaxed, Sakura fret, and Yuzuriha and her dog watched in interest… and I took charge.

"Since the tables and chairs have all been knocked down," I said, all business-like, "please feel free to sit on the stools over there." Our customers did as I suggested. I tuned and whispered to Sakura, "The cake should be done by now. You should serve it to them. Don't forget the tea and whip cream." She nodded and got to work. Meanwhile, I grabbed a broom and swept the entire room as Syaoran and Ryuu-Ou put the chairs and tables back. When I finished sweeping, I helped Sakura clean the area around the counter.

"Please eat before it gets cold," Sakura told Souma sweetly.

"Itadakimasu." Souma took a bite of the cake. You could see her face light up immediately. "This is amazing! Did you three make it?"

"No, ma'am. Fai-sa… I mean, 'Big Kitty' did," Sakura replied.

A moment or two passed of various conversations, when a dark topic came up. "By the way, did you hear about that rumor?" Souma asked.

Kusanagi nodded. "Yeah. I heard about it from Erii at the Intelligence House."

"You're talking about the Oni Leader, right?!" Ryuu-Ou exclaimed. "One day, I'm gonna fight 'im and beat 'im!"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Yuzuriha mumbled. The two boys finished with the tables and joined the rest of us.

"Syaoran-kun," I said, reaching for a plate in the cupboard, "can you get some tea for Ryuu-Ou-san?"

"Sure." As he poured the tea, I set the plate in front of Ryuu-Ou the same time Syaoran did the tea. The boy's eyes widened and he dug in. "You two are Oni-Hunters too, right?" Syaoran asked.

"Yeah!" the boy answered. He had cake crumbs and whip cream all over his face like a little kid. "We even defeated a 5th I Oni!"

"That's very impressive!"

"Kusanagi defeated a 4th I Oni, right?"

The man confirmed this and went on to tell the boy that he could probably do it too. As he spoke, Yuzuriha took a bite of the scone I served her. She practically trembled in delight. Ryuu-Ou caught sight of her eating it and wanted some too. Syaoran put one on his plate, but the boy claimed that it wasn't enough and demanded for more. Our 'Little Puppy' smiled and obliged. He had to put a total of 11 scones on the plate. And strangely, Ryuu-Ou ate it ALL!!! As he ate (like a pig), Yuzuriha and Sakura became friends (officially).

When everyone was done eating, they got ready to leave. "That was awesome!!!" complimented Ryuu-Ou, "I'm stuffed!!!"

"Then Ryuu-Ou, you're gonna pay for all of us!" smirked Yuzuriha.

"What?! Why?!"

"Oh, I don't know… Maybe because you would have destroyed the entire shop unless Kusanagi-san stopped you?"

Ryuu-Ou's body became rigid with guilt. In the end, Souma paid. While Syaoran put the flower-shaped 'credit card' through the machine, she reminded Ryuu-Ou that although you need strength to fight, you also need strength _not_ to fight. The boy understood. He reached behind and clutched the handle of his giant sword, saying that he wanted to know how strong he was on his own, that meeting other strong, powerful people was his pleasure.

Suddenly, Mokona's ears perked up. Yuzuriha's dog began to growl as it sniffed the air and Ryuu-Ou's sword rattled on his back. "It's an Oni!" Ryuu-Ou, Souma, Kusanagi, and Yuzuriha cried at the same time. They immediately dashed out the door. Syaoran shoved Mokona in Sakura's arms and ordered us to stay. Of course, she didn't really listen (well, neither did I…). We stood in the doorway of our café. Kusanagi pulled out some long, sharp claws that connected to his gloves. Yuzuriha was in possession of a gun. Souma lifted her Chinese-style skirt slightly to the side and grabbed the crescent-shaped throwing knives from a strap around her thigh. And Ryuu-Ou had his sword.

There were several Oni. Most were small and were defeated easily, but there was one, huge one. Souma realized it was a 4th I Oni.

"No one help me!" Ryuu-Ou shouted. Then he attacked the large Oni with his move, "Kai-Ryuu-Ha." Although the Oni had fallen and had apparently been defeated, it changed its shape and became a taller Oni with incredibly long limbs.

Kusanagi comprehended what was happening first. "Wait! That can't be! A 4th I Oni isn't supposed to change its shape! Ryuu-Ou!!!" The Oni had attacked the boy, who was caught by surprise. Luckily, before the sword-wielding Oni-hunter could be hurt, Syaoran jumped in the way. The Oni's limbs were similar to blades and he shielded Ryuu-Ou by stopping the attack with Souma's 'credit card.' The flower-shaped object was hard enough to deflect the attack, but only once.

The Oni changed its arms so that they were more flexible and whipped them at Syaoran. It caught him by the ankle. Then it threw him at the ground. Sakura was about to try and help him, but the Oni's other arm was heading toward her. Luckily, Yuzuriha pushed her indoors before it could get her.

"Don't come near! It's dangerous!" Yuzuriha ordered. Sakura was about to protest, but she saw Syaoran. The Oni was still holding onto his ankle and swung him at a tree, head-first. Before he could be injured though, Ryuu-Ou used the attack "Kai-Ou-Jin" to severe the Oni's limbs.

"Where's your weapon?" Ryuu-Ou demanded.

"Weapon?!" Syaoran yelled as he dodged one of the Oni's attacks.

"You can't defeat Oni higher than 'Ro!' You need a weapon!"

Souma could see that this Oni was too strong. So did Kusanagi. "We're gonna help! Ryuu-Ou!" he shouted. The boy grit his teeth and agreed.

"C'mon little lady!" Kusanagi called to Yuzuriha.

She aimed her gun and said, "Yes, sir!"

"Ryuu-Ou!" Souma got ready to throw her weapons.

"Gotcha!!" the boy clenched the handle of his sword tightly.

Kusanagi clawed, Yuzuriha shot, Souma swung, and Ryuu-Ou sliced. Together, they were able to defeat the Oni.

I rushed to get the first-aid kit. When I came back out, Syaoran and Ryuu-Ou were sitting down. They were the only ones injured. I treated Ryuu-Ou while Sakura treated Syaoran. The medicine we had must have stung because when I applied it to the boy's bare arms, he winced. "Owowowowowowowow!!" Soon, the boys were as good as new.

A few moments later, 'Big Kitty' and 'Big Puppy' came back home (we were all still outside, by the way). Kurogane was carrying Fai across his shoulder. I noticed that Fai had a large bag in his hand that made clinking sounds whenever he moved.

"We had a little encounter with some Oni and I got hurt!" Fai cheerfully explained why he was being carried.

I sighed. "I _told _you to be careful!" I scolded, standing behind the ninja so I could talk to the wizard face-to-face.

"Heh, heh, sorry… Hm? Guests?" he looked around (or at least tried) at the people around. Kurogane caught sight of a certain dark-skinned woman. He immediately let go of his grip on Fai's waist in surprise. 'Big Kitty' fell… on me. As Syaoran and Sakura helped us out, I heard Kurogane splutter, "… Souma! What are you doing here?! Is Princess Tomoyo with you?! Is 'Amaterasu' here too?!"

Souma took Kurogane's reaction as a misunderstanding. "Um… sir… it _is_ true that I am Souma, but I believe this is the first time I've met you."

Kurogane was so confused he couldn't speak, so Syaoran spoke for him. He told Souma that she looked like someone Kuroga… 'Big Puppy' knew who happened to have the same name. That seemed to clear things up for Souma as well as the other Oni-hunters. Afterwards, everyone left and it was just the puppies, kitties, cat (technically, I'm 'Black _Cat_,' not 'Black Kitty'), and Mokona.

Syaoran and I had to carry Fai indoors because Kurogane was still speechless. Sakura got some water for everyone while I treated Fai's injured ankle. Syaoran handed me the supplies.

As Sakura went around the room, handing everybody their water, she commented, "Souma-san must have looked just like the Souma-san in Kurogane-san's country!"

"He was so surprised he dropped Fai!" Mokona teased.

"SHADDUP!" shouted Kurogane.

"But it's just like the witch of Dimensions said. That people we meet are 'different but the same.' If that's true, then I think we're going to see everyone again in some other world."

No one spoke for a while. Then Syaoran broke the silence by asking, "So how was the bar?"

"Oh, yeah!" Fai reached behind the couch and grabbed the bag he was carrying earlier. "We brought back some presents!" he said. He set the bag on a table nearby and pulled out several large bottles of alcohol. "We bought these at the bar! They're Caldina's best of the best! Let's drink and talk at the same time!" He made everyone get rid of the water in their glass. Then he filled them to the rim.

I wanted to remain sober so I could watch everyone else get drunk, so when Fai wasn't looking, I gave Kurogane my glass. He drank it for me. So I was the only one who didn't drink anything. But everyone else… well…

Sakura, Mokona, and Fai got drunk first. They drank one or two glasses and suddenly started meowing like cats. That must have been some pretty darn strong alcohol… Kurogane was not amused.

Fai slurred, "An the~n, theah wazz ah vehwy pwettee singrrrr! An ah vehwy keeyoot bah tendah! Meo~w!"

"Meo~~~w!" Sakura joined.

"Wee tahked ah wot an ah wot! Meow!! Theah wazz sumting I tawt wazz weerd, meow! But I dohn weemembrrr!!! Meow!"

"Meow!"

"An de~n, wen I sed I ran ah kyafeii, dey asked mee what it wazz cahlled!"

"Meow!! Wee shteel need to tink ovv wunn!"

Mokona, who was dancing around with a filled glass on her head, suggested, "Meo~w! Yuuko sed dat wee shood naym da shop 'Cat's Eye!'"

"Kyoolll! Kyattz Aiee! Meow!"

"Meow!"

Basically, this is what they said: "And then there was a very pretty singer and a very cute bartender. Meow. We talked a lot and a lot. Meow. There was something I thought was weird. Meow. But I don't remember. Meow. And then, when I said I ran a café, they asked me what it was called.

"Meow. We still need to think of one.

"Meow. Yuuko said that we should name the shop 'Cat's Eye.'

"Cool. Cat's Eye. Meow.

"Meow."

Something like that anyway… Well anyway, while Fai, Sakura, and Mokona were getting drunk, Syaoran and Kurogane spoke outside. About 5 minutes later, Syaoran bowed to Mokona, saying, "Thank you very much, Kurogane-san."

"You're drunk too!!!" Kurogane shouted. "And you over there! Stop drinking!!" He was referring to the meowing trio.

Syaoran grabbed a ladle and held it in front of him like a sword. "Let's get started!" he said seriously, despite his… intoxication…

"Hey!!! You never answered my question!!!"

"Do I hold it like this? Kurogane-san?" Syaoran was talking to a chair. "Ah! Is it more like this?"

"Meow! Meo~w! Meow? Meow meow meo~w! Meow meo~w me~ow meow!" The 'kitties' were using handkerchiefs to make cat ears for themselves. Everyone except Kurogane and I were drunk.

"Hahaha!" I was literally rolling on the flow, laughing. It was funny in the manga, but it was _much_ funnier in real life! Obviously, Kurogane didn't see the humor in it all.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP!!!" he shrieked so loudly it practically shook the whole house. Of course, they didn't 'shut up and go to sleep.' They remained hyper and drunk for another hour or so before finally calming down. In the end, they all fell asleep downstairs and Kurogane and I carried them upstairs. Kurogane carried Fai and Syaoran while I carried Sakura and Mokona. It took a while for me because I was smaller than her, but somehow, I managed. On the way up, Kurogane and I spoke to each other.

"You were wise not to drink," he told me.

"Thanks."

"So you know where the feather is, huh?"

"Yeah, I know where it is. But there's going to be a slight… complication in retrieving it."

"What do you mean?"

"If I tell you, I'd shock not only myself, but Sakura-chan and Mokona too."

"Hm." We were silent for a moment.

Then I asked, "Can you teach me how to fight some more?"

Kurogane stopped climbing the stairs for a moment so he could turn to me. "I already taught you the basics. You don't need to know much else."

"I know, but in future worlds, I'm going to need to learn how to fight just enough to get by. You don't need to teach me here, in this world, but soon. In one of the future worlds, we're going to land in the middle of a war. And in another world, we're going to have to play a very dangerous game. If I'm going to help, I'm going to have to learn to defend myself and handle some sort of weapon."

The ninja looked at me, measuring how much I can do. Then he said, "Fine. But only a little. A small kid like you shouldn't have to fight." He turned around and continued up the stairs. I thanked him and he merely grunted. He seemed a little skeptical about teaching me, but at least he was going to.

The next morning, I woke up early, before the sun rose. I changed into a pair of baggy pants and a T-shirt. Then I went downstairs so I could paint 'Cat's Eye' on the sign. When I was done, I posted it outside by the fence. That way, people could see it.

Just before I went inside, Kurogane came out. He was going to teach me. "You're pretty strong already, so I'll skip the regular training," he said. "Let's practice self-defense first. I want you to flip me over." So that's how my practice started. I learned how to flip a person over, even if they were much larger than me and came from behind, or any direction for that matter. Then he taught me how to knock my opponent down from underneath, how to jump great distances and heights, how to dodge a swing to the gut and use it to my advantage; I learned all that in one morning.

Syaoran must have heard me practicing, because he came outside to see what was going on, wearing the middle school uniform.

"Yuki-san, Kurogane-san, what are you doing?" he asked.

I dodged Kurogane's fist. Then I kicked off the ground, flipped over him, and landed behind him. Then I got down on the ground and swung both of my legs so I could knock his feet from beneath him. Since I was small, one leg wouldn't be enough.

"Kurogane-san is teaching me how to fight a little bit!" I answered Syaoran as Kurogane jumped over my swing and landed a few yards in front of me.

The ninja put folded his arms and motioned for Syaoran to come over. "Hey, kid! You should spar with her! But take it easy; she just started."

"A-are you sure? I don't think I can…!"

"Just do it," Kurogane pushed the boy forward towards me.

I got up and bowed. "Onegaishimasu!" I said. Then I took my stance, the one Kurogane taught me. And then we sparred. I didn't hold back, taking advantage of Syaoran's hesitant fighting and his blind right eye. In fact, I was able to get a few good blows. But in the end, he beat me.

Syaoran shook my hand after we finished. "That was really good!" he complimented. "You took every chance, every advantage!"

"Thanks! I just don't like to lose."

Kurogane ruffled my hair and said, "That's good. You're aggressive, despite your size."

"Gee, what's _that_ supposed to mean," I laughed. Then I bowed to and thanked the two of them.

By the time the 'Puppy Combo' left and I went back inside to get ready, the sun had already risen. It was about 7 to 7:30. That meant I had an hour or so to shower, change, and eat breakfast before our first customers arrived.

I changed into a different Goth-Lolita dress and went to wake up Fai, since Sakura and Mokona were already awake. "Fai-san," I whispered to the wizard. Unlike yesterday, he woke up easily because of his hangover.

"Hm?" he mumbled. "Where am I?"

"On your bed," I answered softly. "C'mon, you need to get up." He got up slowly, clutching his head in pain. "Headache?" He nodded. "It's just a hangover. You'll be fine… eventually… C'mon, if you take a quick shower, you'll feel a little better." As he left the room, I picked some clothes for him and straightened up his room. About 10 minutes later, he returned to the room with only a towel around his waist. This obviously meant that his chest was bare. He was muscular and the water glistened on his pale skin. His blond hair was soaked and stuck to his face. I blushed madly (like any decent girl would), thrust the clothes at him, and dashed out of the room.

Sakura saw me enter the kitchen with a red face. When she asked me what was wrong, I told her about my… encounter with fresh-out-of-the-shower-Fai… She blushed as well. After I told her about that, I distracted myself by opening the curtains and starting some tea.

I noticed several customers coming, and although it would be another 20 minutes before opening time, I let them in. Most of the customers were 'recycled' characters, the characters the mangaka of Tsubasa, CLAMP, had used in previous manga. I spotted a couple girls from Chu'nyan's manga and the characters of Angelic Layer. Sakura, Mokona, and I were able to run the café on our own for a while before Fai came downstairs.

"Ugh~…. " he groaned.

"Good morning!" Sakura greeted. "There were customers waiting, so we opened the shop. How's your foot?"

Suddenly, Mokona popped out, squealing loudly, "GOOD MORNING, FAI~~~!" Fai was very sensitive to sounds at the moment, so when Mokona said hi, he swayed his way over to the counter and collapsed onto it.

"Wah~~~," he moaned, "I think my head's gonna burst…"

"Fai's got a hangover!" Mokona observed.

'Big Kitty' lifted his head slightly and asked, "Sakura-chan, Yuki-chan, you're fine?"

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed with a smile so bright, Fai had to shade his eyes. "I didn't even sleep in today!"

"I didn't drink anything last night," I stated bluntly. Then I went to get something to help Fai's head. By now, I had gotten over the 'incident' upstairs. As I handed him a glass of stomach medicine (Mokona told me that Yuuko said it helps hangovers), he asked where the 'Puppy Combo' was. "They went to go purchase some weapons," I told him. "Now hurry up and finish that, we need to work." I left him to go help a couple of customers.

As the day went on, Fai's hangover weakened and soon he was back to normal. Sakura did most of the 'waitress-ing,' Fai stayed behind the counter, and I dashed back and forth with Mokona. Sometimes I was a waitress, sometimes I was at the cash counter, and sometimes I was making coffee or tea. By the time we closed the café, I was exhausted. Running a care was hard work. It was fun, but very busy, especially since everything Fai made was delicious and everyone always wanted more. Overall, the business was doing well. But in just one day, we were almost out of ingredients.

After we closed the café, we all ate dinner. When we finished, Fai cleaned the trays, Sakura fixed the table cloths, Mokona wiped the counter (or at least tried; Sakura helped her later), and I did the dished.

"Fai, are you okay?" I heard Mokona ask. "Cuz there were lots of customers today."

"Mm-hm! I'm all better now! And my head doesn't hurt anymore."

The bell above the door rang, signaling someone's entrance. Sine the store was closed, it could only be the 'Puppy Combo.' "Welcome ho… Syaoran-kun!!!" Sakura exclaimed. I came out of the kitchen to see what happened. Syaoran was dripping wet and he had cuts and bruises all over his body.

"Are you okay?!" I asked.

"Syaoran's hurt!" squeaked Mokona in alarm as she and Sakura rushed to him.

Fai asked, "Was it an Oni?"

"No," Syaoran answered. He walked to the door leading upstairs and said, "I'm going to go get changed."

I opened one of the drawers under the counter and pulled out some medicine. Then I handed it to Fai, who told Sakura to take it to him. Mokona went with her.

Fai and I watched as the two followed Syaoran upstairs. Kurogane joined us, sitting on one of the stools.

"Was that from teaching him how to use a sword?" Fai asked, leaning on his hands.

"I thought that you were drunk when we were talking about that," grunted Kurogane.

"Yeah, but at that point, I still had an idea of what was going on. Of course, when Yuki-chan woke me up, I was on my bed without a clue about what happened."

While the two adults were talking, I got Kurogane's food for him. As he ate, we discussed how it seemed like the Oni were acting strange lately.

"There's that," Fai began, "and…"

"… the Oni Leader, huh?" finished Kurogane.

"Sounds like it could have something to do with Sakura-chan's feather. Yuki-chan… you can't even tell us if it is or not, can you?"

I shook my head. Kurogane ate the last of his food before telling me, "Get changed. We're gonna review what I taught you this morning."

"Yes sir!" I exclaimed. Then I dashed upstairs. I changed into a different pair of pants and shirt from this morning and headed for the stairs. I was surprised to find Fai blocking the steps.

"'Big Puppy' wants you to jump out the window!" he grinned.

"Okay." So instead of going down the stairs like a normal person, I would be jumping out the window like a crazy person… or at least a person being trained to fight by a ninja warrior from a different universe. Nice… I climbed out the window, waiting for instructions from Kurogane, who was on the ground, watching me.

"Kick off the edge of the roof and land in front of me!" he shouted.

I became confused. "You didn't teach me how to jump this high AND land in a certain area!!"

"Just do it!"

Fai encouraged me from behind. "You can do it, Yuki-chan! When you jump, tuck your legs in. And then when you're about halfway, use your arms to balance yourself and stabilize your landing. Good luck!" He gave me a thumbs-up sign.

I stuttered a quick "Okay" in response. Then I leaped and kicked off the edge of the roof. I immediately tucked my legs in and made a ball. Halfway to the ground, I spread my limbs out, bracing myself for the landing. I let my knee and my hands absorb the shock. That last moment, I shut my eyes. When I felt a large hand ruffling my hair, I opened them. I was staring right at Kurogane's feet; I had succeeded.

"Good job," he said. "Now spar." And so I did. If Fai hadn't hurt his foot, I probably would've sparred with him instead of Kurogane so my teacher could see every move I made and instruct me along the way. I didn't mind though. Of course, Kurogane was a very skilled fighter and I couldn't get any good blows, only wimpy attempts. Obviously, I lost. Yippee…

When we finished, Kurogane told me good job. "Thank you," I panted, out of breath. Then he told me to follow him.

He led me inside and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. "You're going to flip your way up the stairs like this," he demonstrated. He leapt into the air and landed on his hands about halfway up the stairs. Then he pushed off the step with his hands and landed at the top of the stairs upright, on his feet.

I took a deep breath and tried to follow his demonstrations. I made it to the halfway point but lost my balance and fell down the steps.

"Try again," Kurogane instructed.

I grit my teeth and tried again. This time, I didn't fall at the halfway point. I pushed off my hands and attempted to land at the top of the stairs. Then I fell. Again. All the way to the bottom. It took a few more tries before I finally got it; I've got to say, it felt really, really good to get it right.

From the bottom of the stairs, Fai clapped. "Yuki-chan, you're a fast learner! It would take a normal person hours, maybe days, to get that! It only took you 30 minutes!"

"Thank you, Fai-san!" I smiled.

"Good job. Now get ready for bed," said Kurogane.

"Yes sir!" I nodded. Then I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. I didn't have any dreams that night; I was much too tired.

The next morning, I woke up early. I trained with Kurogane and sparred with Syaoran before they left to do their various activities. Then I showered. Since it was Sunday, the café wouldn't open until 1:00, so I changed into normal clothes: a lilac dress, black leggings, black shoes, a hat, and of course, my silver 'XIII' necklace. When I came downstairs, Fai, Sakura, and Mokona were all waiting for me.

"Ready, Yuki-chan?" Sakura asked. She was wearing the exactly the same thing as me, except her dress and hat was pastel pink with decorative flowers on it. Mine was lilac with no flower décor, which worked out nicely because my necklace wouldn't match if it did.

"Yeah! Let's go!" I replied to Sakura. Then we all left to do some grocery shopping. On the way, I noticed Fai was using Mokona's stilt from the country of Jade as a cane. "Fai-san, how's your foot? Is it okay?"

Fai smiled. "Yes, it's perfectly fine. Thanks for worrying. Good job this morning, by the way!"

"Yeah!" Sakura joined in. "Yuki-chan, that was amazing! You were fighting Syaoran-kun! I thought you were very good!"

"Th-thank you!" I replied. "I asked Kurogane-san to teach me. He was a little reluctant at first, but he promised to teach me the basics."

"I wonder if I can learn too!"

Mokona hopped onto my shoulder and squealed, "Sakura doesn't need to! Her luck is good enough!"

The four of us spoke while we did our shopping. Sakura and I held the most. Fai could only hold a couple, and they needed to have handles.

We were just leaving a grocery store when a 9 or 10 year old boy came running through the streets, throwing papers into the air. "Breaking news!!! Breaking news!!!" he yelled. Fai reached up and caught one of the papers that came floating down, but he couldn't read it. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to; a couple of women nearby summarized it for him.

"An Oni attacked someone! What on earth is going on?!"

"Why don't the authorities do something about this?!"

Fai looked at the paper again. "I see. Since strong Oni can only be defeated by Oni-hunters, we'll need to be careful." He saw Sakura's worried expression; she was worried, probably for Syaoran. So he changed the subject. "Our 'Puppy Combo' Oni-hunters are… probably working on their sword-fighting lessons. They're gonna come home hungry. We should make something really yummy for them."

Sakura smiled that cute smile everyone loved. "Yes!" she said. Then we continued our shopping. When we were about to catch the trolley home, a couple of cats came by. They really liked Sakura; they were curling themselves around her feet.

"Kitties!" Mokona exclaimed.

Fai leaned down to get a closer look. "Both of them have such unusual ears!" Sakura and I agreed. One of the cats' ears was pushed back and the other's was pushed forward. Despite their strange ears, they were very, very cute. They followed us to the trolley and even rode with us back to the café. Then they left.

When we got home, there was a line, waiting for the café to open. We rushed inside and got everything ready. Then we opened and worked for the rest of the day. Once again, I saw several familiar faces from CLAMP's other works. The sisters from 'Man of 20 Faces' were there and so were the characters of 'Suki.' Whenever the shop wasn't busy, Sakura and I made cake and stuff. Kurogane came home about an hour or so before closing time carrying 4 large sacks of flour.

"A 'Puppy' came back!" Mokona squealed.

"Welcome back!" Sakura and I said. Kurogane grunted. He laid the sacks on the counter in front of Fai, who greeted him also.

"Welcome back! How was your shopping?"

"Next time have the workers carry it home for you!!" Kurogane said angrily.

Fai leaned on the sacks and grinned, "But if you carry it home yourself, it's cheaper! That's why Syaoran-kun offered!" I didn't hear what they said next, I was helping a customer. It was actually one of the characters from 'Wish.'

After most of our customers left, Kusanagi, Souma, Yuzuriha, and her dog came in. The café would be open for another 20 minutes so everything was fine. We served them Sakura's cake today.

Yuzuriha took a bite and sighed happily, "Why is this place so~~~ good? I just _have_ to keep eating the cake here!"

"Sakura-chan made today's cake, you know!" Fai smiled.

"Mokona helped too!" the little white creature exclaimed. Sakura hid behind her tray, bashful.

Kusanagi turned to Souma. "Ryuu-Ou guys sure are late…" he pointed out.

"I certainly hope he isn't causing any trouble," replied Souma.

Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing Syaoran and Ryuu-Ou. Both were out of breath. Fai asked what happened. "We… met the… Oni Leader," Ryuu-Ou panted.

"You fought him?!" exclaimed Yuzuriha, standing up in alarm.

"No… he had tons of Oni with him… that's why we… ran away… but… he's definitely, without a doubt… strong and powerful."

I dashed to the kitchen and got them some water. I had Sakura give one to Syaoran and I gave the other to Ryuu-Ou, who gulped it down gratefully. "What's wrong, Syaoran-kun?" she asked.

"That man who was with the Oni, I think I know him. He was… the person who taught me how to fight." Nobody knew what to say for a while. Then Kusanagi broke the silence.

"It's about closing time, so we should get going," he led the Oni-hunters out the door. I told Syaoran to eat something. He did, rather mechanically, I might add. Then he went upstairs. He seemed deep in thought the whole time. After we cleaned up the café, I got changed and trained with Kurogane. Then I took a shower and went to bed.

The next morning, I trained again with Kurogane and since no one else was awake, I sparred with him too. After that, I got ready for the day. When I came downstairs Fai was already making pancakes for breakfast and Sakura was about to make some tea. I offered to make the tea for her if she brought Syaoran downstairs. She agreed. By the time they came down, Kurogane had already finished eating.

"Kurogane finished eating all by himself!" Mokona told Syaoran.

"Eat when it's time to," Kurogane said, slurping his cup of green tea. "You never know what's gonna happen next."

"Wow! That's just like a ninja!" Mokona teased.

"I _AM_ A NINJA!!!" he shouted, squeezing her between his fists. While the two were 'playing,' Fai served me, Sakura, and Syaoran breakfast. He asked Syaoran what the 'Puppy Combo's' schedule was for the day. 'Little Puppy' replied that he wanted to go to City Hall. Fai didn't ask why. He just smiled and joined us on the counter to eat his breakfast. After we finished, we cleaned up the area. Then our Oni-hunters left.

Overall, the café wasn't very busy that day. But during lunch, lots of people came by for a quick dessert. When the last of the customers left, Sakura, Mokona, and I did the dishes. It was almost 3:00 by the time we started. Around 3:30, Fai checked in on us.

"You can slow down if you want," he told us.

"Okay," Sakura said, "but there's only a little bit left."

"You guys sure work hard."

"It's because I can't help the people traveling with me."

"Me too," I added, "I always want to help out, but I never really can."

"We want to do everything we can to help," said Sakura. "Maybe one day, even if it's only a little, I hope I could share everyone's hardships with them and somehow make it bett…er…" She barely finished her sentence. Her knees buckled and she collapsed, asleep. Luckily, Fai caught her.

He smiled at her kindly and said softly, "You're such a good girl, Sakura-chan. A person like me, who doesn't have the time to care about anyone else, can at least wish you happiness."

I set down the plate I was drying and turned to him to ask, "You're mind is set on 'Fai,' right?" Mokona looked from me to him, confused. Of course, Fai wasn't confused. He stared into my violet eyes darkly.

"You know about that, too?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "I also know why you're running and how much that tattoo means to you. I know about your past, and Kurogane-san's, and Syaoran-kun's, and Sakura-chan's, and even the Dimension Witch, Yuuko-san's."

"But you can't tell anyone… right?"

"No. I can't tell anyone."

Fai soaked that in for a moment then smiled his breezy smile. He silently carried Sakura to the couch. As he did so, I got a blanket from the closet upstairs. When I came back, I opened the door just a crack to listen to what Mokona was saying. "I know when people are lonely. Fai and Kurogane and Syaoran are all lonely inside. Yuki's not as lonely as everyone else, but she feels pain too, because she feels like she can't ease everyone's loneliness. But you know what? When we're all traveling together, everyone becomes a little less lonely. Mokona thinks that it would be great if just a tiny bit of Sakura's warmth can spread to everyone else."

I was standing on the other side of the door, listening. When things got a little quiet, I stepped in and laid the blanket over Sakura. Just then, the café's bell rang, signaling the entrance of a customer.

"Welcome!!!" the three of us exclaimed cheerfully. We had all plastered on a quick smile.

The customer took a step in. He was tall and very handsome. He wore a large cloak with a hood and had jet black hair. He had very interesting eyes: one was black and the other was almost white. The way he held himself when he walked in made him seem confident and wise.

It was Seishirou.

Fai tensed when he saw our customer. He whispered something to Mokona, who nodded and hopped next to me and the sleeping Sakura. Then he stood up, "What would you like sir?" he asked professionally.

"I heard that there were Oni-hunters here," the man, Seishirou, said.

"That's correct, but they're out right now," replied Fai.

Seishirou smiled. "You do not accompany them?"

"No. I run a café here."

"Even though you hold so much magic?"

"…" Fai was silent for a while before saying seriously, "You, too… So, what sort of business do you have with the 'Puppy Combo?'"

Seishirou smirked and two very large Oni appeared beside him. "I just thought I could have them disappear."

"Ah… So you must be Seishirou-san. You're the one who taught Syaoran-kun how to fight."

"You know Syaoran?"

"Yes. I'm traveling with him."

"Traveling through dimensions?"

"…"

"Syaoran doesn't have the power to cross dimensions… That must mean you've gone to see the Dimension Witch and paid a price."

"… You paid too, right?"

"…"

"I can sense a strong 'power' from you. But it's the magic of your right eye that allows you to travel to different worlds."

"That is correct. I gave up my real eye to attain this one."

Seishirou and Fai spoke to each other almost casually… until Seishirou attacked Fai by controlling the two Oni. "FAI!!!" Mokona shrieked in alarm.

"Don't leave Sakura-chan's side!!!" he shouted as he dodged an attack. Mokona did as he said and didn't move from her spot on the couch.

Fai leaped into the air, dodging another attack. Then he landed on his injured foot and winced in pain. Seishirou saw that. "Does your foot hurt? If you used magic, you could get away more easily."

"But," Fai said, "I swore that I wouldn't use magic."

Seishirou sighed, "Then I guess it can't be helped."

"Fai-san!! Look out!!!" I shrieked. But it was too late.

"Good bye," Seishirou said. And the Oni lurking behind the pale-haired wizard attacked and killed him. All that was left of Fai was a little piece of his bowtie… nothing more.

Should I remain in Outo or move on to the country of Edonis? My mind was racing, trying to decide which country to be in. I never really got to make my decision, because Seishirou turned to the couch, where Sakura was sleeping. "Now then… who are you?" he asked me.

I whispered, "Don't watch," to Mokona then stood up. I tried my best to be confident and brave, but I couldn't help but think I was going to die (in this world, anyway). "My name is Yuki," I stated, "I know who you're looking for."

Seishirou smiled. "And who am I looking for?"

"Kamui and Subaru, the vampire twins."

The man was caught off guard. I took the chance and continued.

"Spoke to Fuuma lately?" Fuuma was his younger brother.

"How do you know those things?" he asked suspiciously.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you have 'it.'" By 'it,' I meant 'Sakura's feather.'

"You seem to know a bit too much. I think I'll have to make you disappear as well."

"Go ahead… But before you do," I took off my necklace and held it up in front of me, "Can you make this 'real?' This and Syaoran-kun's sword. Can you guarantee that they will become 'real?' you can make me 'disappear' from this country any way you like. Just make sure this necklace and that sword becomes 'real.'"

Seishirou was silent for a while, like he was thinking about it. Then he said, "Of course. Do you know how to fight?"

"Yes, but only a little. I spar sometimes with Syaoran-kun."

"That's good, because I want you to fight for your life. It wouldn't be any fun if my prey were too easy to catch."

"Okay. I understand." I slipped the necklace back on. And then his Oni attacked me. I leaped and dodged and even played a little offense, giving the Oni a few good kicks. I wasn't strong enough to defeat the Oni without a weapon, but my blows distracted them for a split-second. Of course, I didn't win. One of the Oni got a hold of my wrist and slammed me on the ground. I was momentarily in shock. The other Oni took the chance and crushed me. Technically, 'Outo' was a virtual reality game. It wasn't real. But my 'death' sure felt real to me.

It didn't last very long though, because when I opened my eyes, I saw 'Edonis.'


	7. Edonis

**OMG!!! I am SOOOOOO sorry for my lack of updates!!! A thousand apologies! TT^TT I am so disappointed in myself... (cries in the corner) I can't believe I haven't updated in, lyk, 2 months! Please feel free to flame me... I need the punishment... **

**This is going to seem lyk an excuse, but it's the truth. You see, my computer had a virus and I couldn't go on the internet. Being the idiot I am, I decided to type out all of the chapters I had written out. Of course, when I got my computer fixed, EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER I HAD TYPED OUT DURING THE TIME I HAD THE VIRUS WAS DELETED!!!!!!!! And to make matters worse, my computer was returned to me the NIGHT BEFORE my two-week trip to Japan! I was so discouraged when I came back (because the chapters were deleted and all), I didn't have the heart to type them out all over again. Well, I FINALLY typed out the next chapter...**

**Again, I AM SOOO SORRY!!!!! I've been feeling so guilty for not updating, that I just HAD to type out at least one chapter! TToTT And again, please feel free to flame me... (Actually, I'd rather you not, but if you do, it's understandable...)**

* * *

Edonis

When I woke up, I was in a 'Dream Capsule,' back in my regular clothes. Memories came flooding back: we had landed in the 'Dream Capsules' when we first arrived. Kurogane was shouting and Fai was about to climb out of the egg-shaped container to see what kind of world it was. Several female workers greeted us in floating transportation devices. They asked if it was our first time. We said yes. They temporarily erased our memories of 'Edonis.' The 'Dream Capsules' closed. We couldn't leave. The workers wished us 'sweet dreams.' We became tired. We fell asleep. We arrived in 'Outo.'

I felt around my neck for the necklace. It was still there. Seishirou kept his word.

When the 'Dream Capsule' popped open, I stepped out and looked around. There were 'Dream Capsules' everywhere I looked. Then I realized that I was alone. "Fai-sa~n!" I called. No one answered. "Fai-sa~~~n!!!" I started to panic. Where was he?! I wasn't fighting _that_ long, was I? His capsule was right next to mine, but he wasn't anywhere near it! A worker came by and asked me what was wrong.

"I'm looking for my friend. He's tall, thin, has blond hair, blue eyes, and is wearing a large, fuzzy coat."

The worker smiled politely. "Don't worry. He's just looking around and asking questions. I can take you to him if you like."

"Really? Can you, please?"

"Of course," the worker, standing on a floating platform with a waist-high railing all around, let me in and floated to our destination. We took a few twists and turns, until finally, I spotted him. He was following another worker; both were on foot.

"Fai-san!!!" I called. He turned around and waved as he saw me get closer. When I was close enough to the ground, I jumped over the railing of the transporter thing and ran into Fai's outstretched arms. "Are you alright, Fai-san?! I already knew 'Outo' wasn't real, so when I 'died,' I knew I'd be fine. But Fai-san, you didn't know…!"

"Don't worry," Fai interrupted with a stern expression. "I'm more worried about you! What happened?! Why are you here?!"

"Seishirou-san 'killed' me," I said hesitantly.

"What?! He…!"

"It was because I knew too much. But I made a deal with him: he could 'kill' me any way he wanted if he made Syaoran-kun's sword, Hi-En, and my necklace real… for both practical and personal reasons." I knew Syaoran needed his sword, but technically, I didn't need my necklace. I only wanted it as proof that this adventure really happened and that I wasn't dreaming. I wanted to know for sure that I had really met my companions and that everything that happened wasn't just fantasy.

"Seishirou… How did he kill…?!"

"He made me fight for my life. I'm actually kind of proud of myself about that!"

Fai became puzzled. "Why?"

"I lasted a while before I got crushed, but I was strong enough to attack a '5th I' oni and distract it long enough to dodge attacks from the other one! It was only when they started working together did I die!"

Fai looked at me strangely, almost like he was sad. "I'm so sorry you felt like you _had_ to fight, Yuki-chan." He kneeled down in front of me and gripped my hands. "But if that had been real, you'd really be dead. I don't want you to get into situations where no one can help you get out."

For a split second, I thought he was my dad. I instantly became home-sick and felt tears well up in the corners of my eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Fai pulled me close and hugged me for a moment. "I'm not mad at you, Yuki-chan, just worried."

When he let go, I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and said, "I know… I just got a little home-sick all of a sudden." I plastered on a grin. "So who's your friend?" I asked.

The woman who had been leading Fai introduced herself. "My name is Chitose." This woman was attractive, with long wavy hair and intelligent eyes. "I was telling Fai-san about the 'Dream Capsules.' He told me that you probably knew about them already."

"Yes, that's right."

As Fai stood up, he said, "I'm a little curious. How does time pass in 'Outo'?"

"We modify the capsules to make the mind think time is passing normally when it's actually not. It would take a while to explain the details, but… it's about nighttime there right now."

When Chitose said 'nighttime,' I remembered that Syaoran would be waking up. I tugged on Fai's sleeve and said, "Syaoran-kun 'dies' at night." Fai nodded. Then he asked if we could be excused. Chitose didn't mind. She told us that our capsules were straight down this path. We thanked her and headed for the capsules. We made it just in time; Syaoran was waking up.

Fai knocked on the capsule. "Syaoran-ku~n!"

"Fai-san!! Yuki-san!!" exclaimed Syaoran in surprise and relief. His capsule popped open and he stepped out. Fai showed him around. "Thank goodness," Syaoran said.

"That we're alive?" I asked.

Fai chuckled. "We 'died' in 'Outo' though." Syaoran was puzzled. "I 'died' first, so I decided to ask around. This place actually isn't 'Outo.'"

"Eh?"

"Well, 'Outo' doesn't exist in reality." Fai opened a large door to reveal a bright theme park. "We're in the country of Edonis, in Fairy Park." As we walked around, Fai explained that 'Outo' was a virtual reality game. I noticed that the style around this country was similar to my bracelet. I would have to ask Yuuko about that later.

Fai led us to a small building. The door was automatic. We stepped inside and a woman came forward. The room was dark, with electronic screens an the walls, and we couldn't see her face, but I knew it was Chitose.

"For those who use the 'Dream Capsule' for the first time, we temporarily erase their memories of this country in the database so that they may smoothly transition into that one and enjoy it."

Syaoran suddenly winced and clutched his left eye, the one that could see. Memories were flooding his mind.

"Do you remember now?" I asked. He nodded slowly and regained his composure.

"In other words," Fai said, "you make it seem like that world is real. That's why we forgot all about this theme park."

Syaoran glanced at my necklace and then at his sword, Hi-En.

"My name is Chitose." The woman stepped out into the light and introduced herself to Syaoran.

"She's one of the people who helped develop the theme park!" Fai explained.

"I'm aware that you are acquainted with a certain man in the 'Dream Capsule' system," Chitose said. "I would like you to tell me about him."

"And why is that?" asked Syaoran seriously.

"If things remain this way… then the game will no longer be just a game."

"What do you mean?"

"Our job is to keep the game safe. For example, if a player injures himself in the game, it will not become reality. Just like a dream… until that man arrived. Here in Fairy Park, we control the 'enemies' of the game, the Oni. But he's somehow controlling them some other way and we are powerless against him. If things remain like this, the dream will…"

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. One of the larger screens on the wall glowed brightly. It showed an image of hundreds of Oni destroying Fairy Park and people running away in terror.

Chitose gasped. "It's become reality. We don't have anything in Edonis that makes virtual reality real. We need to find how that man is doing this and stop him!" The ground shook more violently. "Not only Fairy Park, but the Oni from 'Outo' will destroy the whole country as well!"

Syaoran began to head for the door. "I'm going to look for Princess Sakura!!" he called over his shoulder.

"In that case," Fai said, pointing to one of the screens, "I think I found them!"

The boy dashed back to Fai. "Where's Kurogane-san?" he asked. The screen showed Sakura, Mokona, Kusanagi, Ryuu-Ou, Souma, and Yuzuriha, but no Kurogane.

I scanned the other screens quickly and spotted him standing on the ruined Ferris wheel and facing a giant Oni. "I found him!" the image on the screen changed to a close up of Kurogane on the Ferris wheel then of Seishirou on the Oni.

"Kurogane-san!! Seishirou-san!!" Syaoran cried. And then he ran out of the building.

"Wait!" I shouted, running after him. Fai and Chitose followed. We ran all the way to where everyone else was. They were all very surprised to see us. In fact, Ryuu-Ou and Mokona squeezed Syaoran as soon as they saw him. When Mokona was done, she moved on to Fai then me.

Ryuu-Ou let go of Syaoran and exclaimed, "Thank God! I thought I wouldn't be able to recognize you after we left the system! Whew!"

"That world wasn't real, right?" Syaoran said.

Yuzuriha was puzzled. "You didn't know?"

"Well, that's because we're travelers," Fai explained to her.

"The princess…" began Syaoran. Souma told him that she was just sleeping.

"But," Kusanagi looked up at Kurogane and Seishirou fighting on the Oni, "over there doesn't seem alright to me."

Syaoran watched the two of them fight. "Seishirou-san…" he whispered. Fai asked what was wrong and Syaoran continued, "… he's serious."

The fight between Kurogane and Seishirou was amazing. They were both incredibly strong and they were both using swords. Seishirou's attacks were graceful, like a dance. Kurogane's fighting style was quick, powerful, and very strategic. It was hard to tell who was better. They paused their fight to talk for a moment, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then they stopped talking and were about to strike again with their swords when an object came shooting out of Mokona's mouth and interrupted their fight.

While everyone else around me was surprised, Fai simply clapped. "Cool!! Something came out of Mokona's mouth!" Syaoran and I were speechless.

"YOU GUYS…!!!" Kurogane was the most surprised of all. After all, he thought we were all dead.

"He~y! Kuro-sama~!" Fai waved to the ninja.

"Looks like they made it back," Seishirou said, "all three of them."

Kurogane was confused. "What do you mean…?" Then Seishirou's chest began to glow. Mokona's eyes immediately went "Mekyo!" as the man eased a glowing object out of his chest.

"Princess Sakura's feather?!" shouted Syaoran in a mix of alarm and surprise. "Why does Seishirou-san have that?!"

Whatever Seishirou said after that, I didn't hear; I was too busy watching the world of 'Outo' materialize in the middle of Fairy Park. Chitose stepped forward and confirmed that the feather was the energy making the dream reality. When Syaoran heard that, he immediately began to head for Seishirou, taking Hi-En with him.

Suddenly, a GINORMOUS Oni arrived. There was a woman standing in its hand. It was Oruha, the singer from the bar, 'Clover.' "It's the 'First I' Oni." I heard Seishirou announce.

"You found me!" winked Oruha in a rather flirtatious way.

"It's Oruha! From 'Clover'!" Fai exclaimed in surprise.

"Why is she with that Oni?!" demanded Kurogane.

Oruha, from the claws of the giant Oni, ignored them and began speaking to Seishirou about the game. I already knew what she was talking about, but to everyone else, it was new. I continued to watch as Seishirou asked Oruha if her real name was 'Subaru.' It wasn't. After a few moments more of speaking with the singer, Seishirou said that if those two weren't here, then there was no need for him to stay either.

Syaoran, who heard this, shouted, "Wait! That feather…! I'm traveling so that I can find that feather!"

"But it doesn't belong to you, Syaoran," Seishirou pointed out.

"It's an important thing that belongs to an important person."

"Unfortunately, I can't give it to you, sorry," Seishirou smiled. "I wonder if you're going to fight me."

"You are the one who taught me how to fight. Right now, I won't be able to defeat you. I realized that when I fought you in 'Outo.' But," Syaoran began to unwrap the cord that bound his sword, "I swore that I'd retrieve that feather." I noticed Kurogane wince slightly when Syaoran pulled Hi-En from it's sheath, saying that even if his chances were near zero, he'd take that chance.

Despite being far away, I could feel the heat of the flames coming from Syaoran's sword. He tried to attack Seishirou, but the man dodged. It was so fast, I couldn't even see it.

The man said something to his former pupil, but I couldn't hear. I was a tad too busy dodging a falling piece of rubble. After I safely made my way next to Fai, Seishirou had already activated the magic circle used to travel between worlds.

"See you later," the handsome man said as he began to disappear, "Syaoran." And then he turned to me and whispered, "… little girl…" WTH! You know what?! Just because I'm small for my age doesn't mean you have to call me little!

"Seishirou-san!!" Syaoran cried as he tried to reach his former teacher before he completely disappeared. Unfortunately, he couldn't reach him. He didn't have much time to feel despair though, not in this world anyway. Mokona's wings emerged and she unconsciously summoned the magic circle.

"What the…?!" Ryuu-Ou shouted in surprise.

"The magic tool Seishirou-san used is causing _our_ magic tool to activate," Fai explained to no one in particular. "Both of them came from the Dimension Witch, so it must be because the source of the power is the same." Then he turned to Kusanagi and took the sleeping Sakura back from his arms "Thanks for taking care of Sakura-chan!

"Kuro-rin! Syaoran-kun! I think… it's time to leave."

Kurogane and Syaoran were somewhat surprised, but not as much as everyone else; they were watching Mokona's magic circle activate. Ryuu-Ou and Yuzuriha however, were probably the most surprised.

"What do you mean by 'time to leave'?!?!"

"Hang on a sec!!" They didn't want their new friends, Syaoran and Sakura, to leave.

Around us, the remains of 'Outo' were disappearing, as were we. Mokona had opened her mouth and my fellow travelers and I began to dissolve into the visible wind. Ryuu-Ou and the others' clothes were returning to the way they were in the country of Edonis.

Ryuu-Ou ignored this and began yelling something to Syaoran. Meanwhile, Yuzuriha was begging Fai, Sakura, and I not to leave.

"Don't worry," I told her right before we completely disappeared, "we'll see each other again sometime. I'm sure of it." I gave her a quick smile and said good-bye as I dissolved into wind.

And so we left the world of Edonis.


	8. Country of Illusion

The Country of Illusion

**omg! I am SOOO sorry for the late update again! TToTT (I seem to be apologizing a lot...) But here's the next chapter, for those of you who still have faith in me... And... sorry for the crappy chapter. The next one will be the country of Shara though! And its' summer now, so I have a little bit more free time (not much though... my dad's making me 'train' and study for the ACT and SAT... ew...). I'll try my best to update as soon as possible! _ Hopefully, I'll be able to do so. **

**Summary: Yuki and co. land in the country with all of the bunnies in it. And... yeah. There's not much to do about this chapter... -_-#  
**

Somehow, we all landed separately. I found myself alone in the lush green jungle. If I remembered correctly, Sakura and Syaoran landed together somewhere in this jungle while Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona landed in another area in the same jungle.

"Hmph. I see how it is…" I muttered to myself in English. Well, I had nothing better to do, so I might as well look for them.

I took my time and observed the jungle. I hadn't seen any animals or even insects around, but I completely ignored that fact. The plants were also very large and strange. I wanted to touch a very pretty one, but decided against it. I'd seen what pretty plants can do in MY world; who KNEW what kind of plants THIS world held.

At one point, I came across a VERY large tree. Its roots were positioned in a staircase-like structure. This gave me an idea. I was beginning to wonder if my body could still remember the things Kurogane taught me in Outo

. So I took my stance at the bottom and flipped to the next root (that tree was pretty damn big). To my surprise, I landed neatly on my hands. I flipped again onto the next root and landed softly on my feet. It was a great feeling, knowing that my body remembered everything. I quickly flipped back down to the bottom and continued to wander around.

After a little while, I heard a few familiar voices.

"And that's what it says!" a cute voice squeaked.

"I don't understand that at all!" a deep voice shouted. In the back, I could hear a carefree voice sing, "I can't read it!"

"Fai-san! Kurogane-san! Mokona!" I exclaimed (to myself) in realization. I ran to where the voices were coming from. Next thing I knew, I was free-falling. Apparently, I had fallen in a hole that was covered with this HUGE leaf. Luckily for me, I fell on top of Fai, who broke my fall. I guess it wasn't a hole but a gap between a couple ginormous roots.

"It's Yuki!" Mokona squealed. "She fell from the sky! She fell from the sky!"

I rushed to get off of the pale-haired wizard whom I'd fallen on.

"I'm so sorry, Fai-san! Are you alright?" I asked, helping him up.

"Yep, I'm fine. It's a good thing you're very light, Yuki-chan," he smiled.

The three (four, including Mokona) of us walked a little more, talking about White Day. I tried to explain, but my explanation was cut short; we spotted Sakura trapped in a net.

"Sakura-chan!" Fai shouted in alarm. She was struggling to free herself but couldn't, so we helped her out. When she was free, Mokona asked what happened.

"Syaoran-kun's been kidnapped!" she cried out. "A falling nut hit him on the head and he fell, unconscious. The ones who took him were small and had long ears and a tail!" The she suddenly began to run. The rest of us followed.

"The ones who took Syaoran-kun were small people with long ears and a tail?" Fai wondered aloud as he ran after Sakura.

"They went in this direction!" she pointed.

Kurogane was not amused by the situation. "What happened to the training from 'Outo'?" he growled. "How could he fall unconscious from a falling nut…"

"I was in the line of fire," Sakura defended, "He was trying to save me…!"

"Well… he's got a long ways more to go until he can use a sword."

"You're such a strict teacher!" Fai and I teased in unison. The ninja ignored this remark.

"Look!" Mokona suddenly pointed. "There's smoke!"

The other three (including Mokona) travelers sped to where the smoke came from, panicking. I on the other hand, slowed my run to a light jog, knowing that everything would be alright.

Of course, I was right (thanks to my otaku-ness). Syaoran was eating together with the rabbit-like residents of this country. When I arrived on the scene, Sakura was feeling her friend's head.

"There's a bump!" she said, worried.

"I'm fine," Syaoran told her. "Besides, we have a slight situation here."

"'Situation'?" Fai repeated, puzzled.

Kurogane glanced at the little rabbit creatures and demanded, "What do you guys want," in an intimidating voice. The creatures immediately hid behind Syaoran, whom they had befriended.

Fai laughed. "This person," he pointed to the ninja jokingly, "his face is scary, but for now, he won't bite."

"What do you mean by 'for now'?" shouted Kurogane as he glared at the wizard, who replied in a sing-song voice, "You're scary face is fine!"

"All right, break it up," I said, stepping between them so they wouldn't fight. Then Syaoran invited all of us to sit down so that he could explain the situation to us.

"There's some kind of beast," he said while the rabbit-creatures brought food to us, "Apparently, it came from the forest and lives in the 'sea of trees.' It appeared suddenly and destroyed all of these people's homes." Syaoran said 'people,' but I think 'bunnies' would have been more appropriate. Of course, that's just my opinion.

"We all fought," the bunnies (or people, in Syaoran's terms) said, "but it was useless. That terrifying beast told us to give it a sacrifice. If we gave it a yummy sacrifice, it wouldn't destroy the jungle."

"And that's why," Fai grinned, "you captured the yummy-looking Syaoran-kun!"

"But Mokona looks yummy-looking, too!" the little white creature whined.

"So," interrupted Kurogane, "if you were going to be burned as a sacrifice, then what are you doing being all friendly and eating with them?"

Syaoran answered, "That beast, after listening to them talk, really did appear out of nowhere. And it seems to hold a incredible power."

"Sounds an awful lot like the other stories we heard about Sakura-chan's feather so far," Fai said to no one in particular.

"This," the bunnies pointed at Syaoran (apparently, he was a 'thing'), "said that he might be able to get rid of that beast for us. That's why we took him down."

"This asked us all kinds of knowledgeable things and sat down."

"If you sit, you're an ally and if you're an ally, you get to eat!"

"I see!" Fai nodded in comprehension.

Meanwhile, Syaoran asked Mokona (who was on his head), "Mokona, can you sense the feather?"

"…Yeah, I can. It's close."

Kurogane smirked, "Looks like we're going on a hunt."

"Kuro-sama seems so happy!" Fai pointed out, "But don't get TOO excited, yet!" The ninja merely grunted in response.

Initially, we were all going to go on the 'hunt', but the bunnies wanted at least one of us to stay and be the sacrifice. Fai and I volunteered. Sakura tried to protest, but since we could tell she really wanted to go, we let her.

"We'll cheer you on from here!" Fai waved as our fellow travelers went on. Then he turned to me with a serious face. "What do you know about 'Fai?'" he asked darkly.

"…He's…" I wasn't really sure what I was going to say, but the bunnies jumped all over me, so I couldn't say anything anyway; I could accidentally shock them.

"It's okay," Fai waved the thought away, "you can tell me later, when we're REALLY alone." He regained his carefree persona and squatted down. "I wonder what they're doing right now. Maybe Kuro-nta might be fighting already."

"It's very strong!" one of the bunnies said.

"You can't go near it!"

"It's so strong you can't go near it!"

"I see," Fai smiled, "so… what exactly is it?"

"It's…" one bunny began.

"Invisible!"

"You can't see it!"

"It's tall!"

"It's strong!"

"It sucks things up!" All the bunnies began to speak at once. Their voices were similar to Mokona's, but WAAAYYYYY squeakier (is that even a word?), so the squeakiness (is THAT a word?) was driving my CRAZY! Fai didn't seem to mind though.

"How did the beast ask you about the sacrifice?" he asked them.

"Like this!" And then the bunnies went through an entire telephone game starting from how strong it was to "The beast said to offer a yummy sacrifice and it won't attack!"

I sighed. Their reasoning was so ridiculous. The 'beast' (it was actually just a tornado) didn't actually demand a sacrifice. Fai simply laughed.

"Do you know anything about a pretty white feather? It glows and has a pink design on it." I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah. We have one," a bunny said.

"You do?" Fai stood up, surprised. "Can you show it to me?" One of the bunnies left and returned with Sakura's feather. They explained that it fell from the sky and they picked it up. "Can we have it? It's very important."

"Yeah! Take it!" the bunnies said, then they handed the feather to Fai.

"Yay!" he cried, "This calls for a celebration!"

"A celebration?"

"Do you want a celebration?"

"Let's have a celebration!"

"We need to dance!"

"Get the drums!"

"Let's dance!"

"We'll teach you the dance!"

"The celebration dance!" Seriously, these bunnies were crazy. They were cute… but crazy.

Well, they taught us their celebration dance. It was actually really simple. All you do was go around in a circle and beat your drum. We were dancing around a big fire when Syaoran guys came back. Fai was enjoying himself, but I was quite reluctant. Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona were so surprised, the tripped and fell.

"Welcome back!" Fai greeted cheerfully as he continued to dance. I immediately stopped dancing and left the circle, embarrassed.

"What are you doing…?" Kurogane asked skeptically.

The wizard laughed. "It's a celebration dace they taught us!"

"Why are you celebrating?" Mokona asked.

"Look!" Fai reached into his pocket and showed them something.

"A feather?" Syaoran cried when he saw what it was.

Kurogane grumbled, "So it was here…" He seemed depressed because he wouldn't get to fight.

"These guys had it," Fai explained, "It fell and they picked it up."

"Could it be that the beast appeared around the same time?" Syaoran asked the bunnies.

"Is it?"

"I think it is."

The brown-haired boy turned back to Fai. "The beast turned out to be a tornado," he said.

"Ah~. I knew it! The way they were speaking made it seem like something like that."

Kurogane then skeptically pointed out that there was no way a tornado could demand a sacrifice.

"Oh~! That!" Fai grinned. "Alright, one more time!" And then the bunnies went through the whole telephone game again.

"The beast said to offer a yummy sacrifice and it won't attack!"

"NO IT DIDN'T!" Kurogane shouted as Fai handed Syaoran the feather. He promptly returned it to Sakura, who fell asleep as expected.

Suddenly, the tornado arrived. Several bunnies (and Fai) clung to the stoic Kurogane for support. A few clung to me as well. The bunnies were frightened by the great wind, but it actually wasn't very terrifying. The tornado had brought flowers and carried them to Sakura.

"These flowers," Syaoran smiled kindly, "must be a thank-you gift from the tornado." Soon after, the tornado left the area.

I went to get Fai's coat, which was hanging on a nearby branch. As I handed it to him, I said, "I guess it's time to leave. We no longer have a reason to stay here." The others (and the bunnies, who didn't really want us around, now that the threat had gone) agreed.

We weren't standing near each other when Mokona activated the magic circle. I was standing by Fai and Kurogane while Mokona was by Sakura and Syaoran. Perhaps that was the reason why, but when we landed in the next world, we were separated again… great… -_-#


	9. Country of Shara

The Country of Shara

**I'm so terribly sorry! School is killing my sense of creativity... And I'm sorry about my broken promise about updating during Winter break... TT^TT I tried! I swear, I tried! But with Honors Chemistry (which I got an A in!) and Physics and Algebra II and Japanese III and all that crap that we have to do in school, I just don't have the energy to DO anything except study and occasionally watch a movie to relieve stress. I tend to find time to draw during class when I doodle while taking notes to keep myself awake, but writing stories is a slightly different matter. Especially for this story, since it's a parellel with the actual Tsubasa manga. And since the manga I own is NOT in English, I have to translate everything by myself! :( At this point, I almost WANT you guys to flame me. I deserve it. :P**

**On a more positive note, I found time to actually type out this chapter! Even with my busy schedule with school, church, and musical theater! (We're doing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - with only a cast of 16 people - this year.) :D And I actually found time to type out the next one too! (smiles like an idiot). You can expect the next chapter soon. (LIES!) It'll be a little bit awkward, though, cuz Yuki... Uh... I'll just let you read it when it comes out later... ^_^ (in, like, MONTHS if I continue working the way I am now)**

**And THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO MUUUUUCCCCCHHHHHHH! All of you people who were waiting so patiently are absolutely wonderful! :D I've been getting a few comments and story faves recently. Those gave me the inspiration to get back to this story. You'll have to continue waiting patiently though, because my schedule's stupid like that... :( But, again, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart! I treasure all of you guys and love reading your comments! You all give me the energy to keep working hard and get my work done so that I can get back to you guys and continue writing. :D Crap. I'm rambling. Ok! I'll shut up now! :]**

Fai, Kurogane, and I landed in a different area from Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona. We were a standing near a structure that looked very similar to a temple. The other three were nowhere in sight.

"Looks like we got separated!" Fai said gleefully. "I wonder if Syaoran-kun and Sakura-chan and Mokona are okay."

"Don't worry, Fai-san," I told him as the three of us began to wander around. "They're alright."

"If Yuki-chan says so, then it must be true!" he grinned. Then he glanced at the silent ninja and grinned wider. "Huh~? Are you mad?"

"…" I started snickering when Kurogane ignored Fai.

"Is it because you didn't get to fight again?" the wizard pestered. "The beast turned out to be just a tornado after all."

"…"

"Well, anyway," he changed the subject, "wasn't that country a little weird?"

This remark caught Kurogane's attention. "What makes you think that?"

"Think about it, Kurogane-san," I said, "That place was really hot. The trees were tall and had broad leaves to catch the sunlight."

"What about it?"

Fai explained why the country was weird. "The people living there were covered in thick fur. Why would they have fur if they lived in such a hot country." He continued to explain that when he and I were with them, he had asked them different questions. (I was going crazy listening to those squeaky bunnies, so I didn't even know he had continued asking them things.) They had told him that they had always been in that country, but they didn't have many buildings or structures for the tornado to destroy.

Also, Mokona didn't sense the feather even though she was so close. "Isn't that weird? They said that they found it, but if they simply had it, then Mokona would have been able to sense it quickly. To have only vaguely sensed it means…"

"Are you saying that they were hiding it?" Kurogane grunted.

"… maybe," Fai smirked. He went on, saying that Sakura heard the tornado's voice so it was probably true. Or it could be that the cute little creatures were deceiving them really well. "You don't seem very surprised."

"…I've felt eyes watching us since we began traveling through dimensions," Kurogane said. "The only time I didn't feel anything, was when we were at that Dimension Witch's place."

I noticed Fai's expression grow dark, although he remained smiling. "That place the Dimension Witch was… it was really amazing…" he said cryptically. Then he made a goofy grin and asked lightly, "Why didn't you say anything to Syaoran-kun?"

"There'd be no point, since we can't tell who the enemy is."

"So that means you didn't want him to worry? Kuro-sama's so nice!"

"Don't just decide on your own," grumbled the ninja. As we got off the staircase we were walking down, several men in matching karate uniforms (obviously they weren't karate uniforms, but they kind of looked like it, so…) and sunglasses (yeah… sunglasses… -_-#) surrounded us.

"This is a jinja!" one of the men shouted. "It's not a place for the Yuukaku!"

Fai's ears heard some of these words for the first time. "Yoo-kah-koo? Jeen-jah?" It appeared that Kurogane didn't quite grasp what a jinja was either; it was different in his world.

"Quit joking around!" the men yelled as they pulled out their short swords.

"You were the ones who attacked first," Kurogane smirked, pulling out his own, long katana. "Don't complain about what happens next." With a quick swing of his sword, the ninja single-handedly defeated the men. He didn't kill them, but he did injure them just enough to keep them at a distance.

"That was awesome, Kuro-npyu!" Fai clapped loudly. I was so amazed, I was speechless.

"You bastard," Kurogane growled as he pointed the sword at Fai. "Don't just stand there and watch!"

"Well~," he cheerfully moved the sword aside, "I didn't want to interfere with Kuro-tan's great debut!"

I noticed the men getting up; they seemed very angry. "Do your worst!" one shouted. I took my stance and prepared myself.

"Stop this at once!" someone yelled. It came from a tall man wearing long robes and a pair of round spectacles. His long green hair was tied up to the left in a side ponytail. He was young, about 25, and had a very kind face that was wise beyond his years.

"What the…" Kurogane grunted.

"Who's that?" Fai wondered aloud. I remained silent.

"Souseki-sama! Master!" the men shouted. They complained to the man that we were intruders who stepped within the boundaries, even though it was in place. "They walked right passed the barrier Souseki-sama put up! They're not normal!"

Fai grinned foolishly. "We didn't walk right past; we fell out of Mokona's mouth and landed within the boundaries. Well, even if we explained, you probably wouldn't believe us."

The master of this place, Souseki, bowed politely and apologized for his followers, who had attacked us. Fai told them not to worry about it and that it wasn't their fault that they thought we were suspicious. He was gesturing to Kurogane when he said that.

"It appears that you are not of the country of Shara," Souseki pointed out.

"We're travelers!" Fai said. I was aware of the other men whispering to each other.

"Just the three of you?" the kind man asked.

"There are two, I mean, three others!" the wizard answered. Kurogane obviously didn't think of Mokona as a person.

"So there are others with you. Do you plan to meet them somewhere?"

"We do, but we don't know where. So we'll need to find them, soon."

"Your companions must be searching for you as well; you will need a place to stay." Souseki put his hands together. "How would you like to stay here?" His followers were not pleased and complained. He simply replied that they couldn't properly call this place a jinja if they didn't help others in times of need.

Fai raised his hand and asked, "Would you like to tell us what kind of place this is?"

"It's a jinja," Kurogane said, "It's a place that houses gods and stuff."

"No, this is a different jinja," Souseki explained, "We are protecting people, not gods. Now, let me show you around." As he led us around, he realized something. "I'm terribly sorry, but I did not catch your names."

"I'm Fai!"

"Kurogane."

"…Yuki," I figured that since there weren't any women around, this place was forbidden to females and wasn't sure what they would do about me. My clothes were pretty baggy, so maybe I looked like a boy to them, but if they heard me speak, they'd know immediately that I was a girl.

"Master! That puny one is a girl!" Gee… Am I really that small? "This place is forbidden to women!" one of the men shouted. See… I told you… Honestly, I was scared. There were dozens of grown men and one of me. I instinctively stood closer to Fai and Kurogane, both of whom stood protectively in front of me.

Souseki turned around and looked at his men. "This is a jinja. We protect people here," he reminded them. "And if you are so keen on forbidding women from entering this jinja, either throw her out or dress her up as a boy so that no one will notice. You did not notice yourselves until you heard her speak. The men didn't know how to respond. Souseki then bent down in front of me and said kindly, "I humbly apologize on behalf of my men, Yuki-san, but you will indeed have to be disguised as a boy. I was planning on simply giving you boys' clothes, but it appears my men decided to make a scene.

"N-no, it's fine," I stuttered, "I don't mind wearing boys' clothes at all. And besides, I should be thanking you for letting us stay here." I desperately hoped that I was able to change the subject the subtly and successfully. Luckily, Fai helped me out.

"Yes, it's really beautiful. Not just the buildings, but the overall atmosphere is wonderful," he complimented.

Souseki either didn't notice that we changed the subject, or he noticed but pretended not to. It didn't really matter either way. "From long, long ago, this jinja has protected this country," he explained.

"From what?"

"From all kinds of things!" the men shouted as we continued walking. They weren't so close to me now, but I could still feel their eyes boring into my back. "Like enemies from the outside or illnesses! The ones who protect this jinja is Souseki-sama's family! They're born with great spiritual power! The one with the strongest power becomes the master!"

"Just like a jinja and kannushi," Kurogane said to himself.

"Kahn-noo-shee?" This was another foreign word to Fai.

"It's a person who uses the power of the gods to protect its house," the ninja explained.

"So they have them in Japan, too!"

"There's a jinja, but no kannushi. We have a miko princess instead."

"Is that the princess who sent Kuro-tan away?"

"Yeah."

The men saw this conversation as a chance to get rid of us. "You must have com from pretty far if you don't know about the jinja of the country of Shara!"

Kurogane glanced at them darkly, making them take a step back in fear. Fai paid that no mind and simply grinned, "That's right~!" Then he looked from left to right. "By the way, is there something going on right now?" he asked Souseki.

"Why would you think that?" the master responded, playing dumb.

"Not just around the jinja, but there," Fai pointed to a large door. "They were called 'shimenawa' right?" He was talking about the paper boundaries the men accused us of passing. "I can sense something much more powerful than that. Whatever is beyond that door is protecting something…"

"… Your sword-fighting skills from earlier, your ability to sense these things… It appears that you are not normal travelers." Souseki mumbled something to himself, but I couldn't hear. Then he said more loudly, as he opened the door, "Let us speak… about the things that are occurring at this time… about this statue of Yasha. I apologize, Yuki-san, but it is because of this statue that women are forbidden here, so you cannot enter."

"It's alright," I said, "I already know about the statues of Yasha and Ashura… I also know about you and Suzuran-san…" When I mentioned his secret lover's name, Souseki froze.

"I see… it appears that you are not a normal traveler either," he whispered. "In that case, please wait outside of this room while I inform your companions. Everyone, please be nice to Yuki-san." And then he closed the door.

I was back to where I started: one little girl in a sea of grown men. In hopes of not getting beat up, I tried to start up a conversation. "Uh… so… what do you guys do for fun around here?" I asked nervously.

"Well, we wake up, train, eat, train some more, and then we're free to do pretty much whatever we want. Sometimes Master gives us a few jobs, but other than that, we usually tell stories, continue training, or sleep."

"Stories?" A light bulb blinked on in my mind. "I know quite a few stories from my travels!" I said. And then I began to tell stories. I began with 'Romeo and Juliet,' since Souseki and Suzuran's relationship was kind of similar. When I finished, a few of the men were crying. They looked big and scary, but they were actually a whole bunch of softies. The next few stories I told came from anime, manga, movies, and a few came from my own travels with the Tsubasa cast. I was so busy telling stories, I didn't notice Souseki, Fai, and Kurogane come out of the room.

"And then Light begged the shinigami to kill the others. 'Sure, I'll write,' Ryuk said. Light was going to win. He was going to become the god of the new world… or so he thought… Instead of writing the names of the officers in the Death Note, Ryuk wrote…"

"Yuki-chan," someone tapped me on the shoulder.

"Ah! Fai-san! Done already? That was quick."

"C'mon! Finish the story! What did the shinigami write?" the men demanded. I was telling them a slightly altered version of the manga/anime Death Note since the country of Shara didn't have cars and motorcycles and stuff. They really seemed to like these stories.

"Everyone," Souseki said, stepping forward, "these travelers are tired. Let them get some rest."

"But Master…!"

"Please show them to their rooms and get them some fresh clothes." The men obliged.

We were given a single room, since all of the others were occupied. The men who brought the clothes and futon apologized because they didn't have anything that would fit me and that I'd have to wait until tomorrow. I told them that I didn't mind. That night, I slept in my purple t-shirt and jeans while my companions slept in robes. Our three futon were all lined up next to each other with about 30 centimeters, 1 foot, of space in between. Mine was right in the middle.

The next morning, Kurogane woke me up early so that I could train. Fai joined us a little later. Afterwards, we ate with the men then went back to our room. Someone had come by and left several bottles of alcohol in the room. It was most likely Souseki. After the wizard confirmed that there was no poison (via taste-test), the two adults began drinking to their heart's content. If I remembered correctly, they had been given the sake at night and drank till morning. Apparently, I changed the story a little bit… oh, well.

"The 'sake' in this country is really yummy!" Fai grinned foolishly a few hours later, "I can just keep drinking and drinking!"

"In Outo, was that an act?" Kurogane grunted.

"Hm?"

"You were drunk, right? Meowing all over the place."

"That was real! Well anyway, that wasn't because I drank alcohol; that was just a game." The two continued speaking while I cleaned up around the place. There were bottles EVERYWHERE! I picked up the empty ones and lined them up in rows by the door. I counted a total of 28 empty bottles of sake… Geez…

"… When Souseki was talking about that Yasha statue, the name 'Ashura' came up," Kurogane said. I stood quietly and was definitely aware of the change of atmosphere. "That time, why did your face suddenly turn pale?"

Fai was silent. The two men stared at each other for a moment. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was Souseki.

"I came in to check on you earlier but you seemed to have a hangover. Are you alright?" he asked kindly.

"Yep~! The sake you gave us was really good!" Fai exclaimed. He had successfully avoided Kurogane's question… for now…

"Would you like to have lunch with me?" Souseki smiled.

"Of course!" the wizard agreed. "Right, Kuro-sama?" Kurogane stood up and followed Souseki with Fai and me trailing after. As we left the room, the master complimented how strong the black-haired man was in terms of alcohol.

I noticed Fai watching the ninja with serious eyes while we walked. "My goodness," he whispered, "It's because he's always watching…"

"Fai-san," I said softly. "You're thinking about King Ashura, aren't you? If you need someone to talk to, I'm always available."

He smiled at me and ruffled my hair. "Yuki-chan knows about everyone's secrets, so it's okay if I talk to you, huh? Thank you." For the rest of the short walk to the room Souseki led us to, we were silent.

When we arrived, there were 4 mini-tables (kind of like coffee tables, but WAY smaller) and mats waiting for us. We all sat down on a mat and began to eat. There was rice, potatoes, some kind of soup, and fish. Oh! And chopsticks! I couldn't help but giggle when I saw Fai attempt to eat with them.

"These," he mumbled, "are hard to use…" the potato chunk (I'm not really sure how else to describe it…) fell from the chopsticks and back into the bowl he was holding.

"Do you have difficulty with chopsticks?" Souseki asked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Please pay it no mind," the man kindly showed Fai a way of using chopsticks. It was a young child's way of holding them, but who cares when you're a foreigner.

My blond buddy had just gotten the hang of it when the men of the jinja burst into the room loudly. They were covered in bruises and cuts, like they had just come from a fight. One of them had a sprained ankle and was leaning on another man for support.

"Our guests are having their meal," Souseki said. He seemed rather irritated with his men.

"We apologize, but the guys at Yuukaku! They suddenly came and literally kicked us out! It was a child with an amazing kicking attack!" Fai and Kurogane's ears perked up when the men said this. "And on top of that, it was a girl!" My two companions turned away; they had thought the child was Syaoran, but Syaoran's obviously not a girl. (Technically, it really was Syaoran, but he was DISGUISED as a girl since the Yuukaku was forbidden to men. He was in the same situation as me.)

"I thought it was Syaoran-kun, but I guess not," Fai said, ignoring the men. "I wonder where they are. Since we can understand each other, it means that they're not far away, but…"

"Don't worry," I told them, hesitantly, "We'll see them… uh… eventually…" Not for another 6 months or so, but I left that part out.

"Well, if Yuki-chan says so!" the wizard grinned. A moment later, Souseki came and apologized for having to leave early. Then he left with his men, leaving us alone in the room. We were just about to continue eating, when one of the men returned and handed me a set of clothes.

"Here you go. We were able to get some clothes for you," he smiled then left. The robes he handed me were a nice, dark gray. It came with a dark blue sash and a thin scarf of the same color. It was kind of a cross between Fai and Kurogane's robes. I set it aside and the 3 of us finished eating. We weren't really sure about what to do with the plates, so we stacked them neatly and left them near the door. When we went back to our room, I made them wait outside so that I could change. I came out when I was done.

"You still look like a girl," Kurogane grunted. "We'll need to do something about your hair."

"I think Kuro-pin's right. If we tie it back like this," Fai held my hair with his fingers, "maybe she'll look a bit more like a boy."

"Yeah. That'll work. But what do we tie it with?" The three of us searched our robes for something, a string or cord perhaps. Incidentally, we found one. There was a stray cord in Fai's robes. He used that to tie my hair.

"Well, now that that's taken care of," Kurogane said, "let's go train."

"Yes, sir!" I replied. We basically trained for the rest of the day. Around the time the sun was setting, Souseki and his men came out to watch. It would've been hard since I was wearing robes, but it came with pants, so I was fine. To finish off today's training, Kurogane asked one of the men to spar with me. Amazingly, I won! I was so proud of myself! I'm really small for my age; despite that fact, I was able to defeat this full grown man who trained everyday!

Unfortunately, my victory was short-lived. The ground began to shake and the sky opened.

"What's happening to the sky?" the man I just defeated shouted, getting up.

"It's got to be the Ashura statue!"

"That's right! This MUST be that Ashura statue's fault!"

"We can't ignore this any longer! We'll need to destroy that statue!"

"Yeah!"

Souseki stepped forward and yelled over them, "Stop at once!" I didn't realize he could even yell that loudly. "Even if we believe that it brings violence and war, it is still the statue of a god! I cannot allow you to destroy it!"

"But Souseki-sama…!"

"Besides, we do not completely understand why this is happening. Also, we must first investigate this occurrence!" With that final note, the master of the jinja left. I couldn't help but think that he was worried about Suzuran. If this whole thing was the fault of either Yasha or Ashura, then they wouldn't be able to see each other anymore.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the princess's feather, does it?" Kurogane asked as he looked up at the sky.

"I'm not sure," answered Fai, also looking at the strange sky. "But… I can sense something unbelievable beyond that sky."

Suddenly, a certain, visible wind swept around us.

"What the…?"

"Huh? We're going to cross dimensions?" Fai shouted as he began to disappear.

Before we completely disappeared, I grabbed my companions' hands so that we wouldn't get separated. A moment later, we found ourselves being sucked into Mokona's mouth.

When we landed, it was in the middle of a bloody battlefield.

* * *

**A/N: I'm just going to come out and say it. I AM ON HIATUS! There. I said it. Maybe I won't feel pressure from my readers now. :| So... yeah. I'd LOVE to spend my time writing, but I simply don't have the time. I DO have a life, you know. **

**For this story, I've been writing it out by hand and typing it out on the computer. I have more time to write than I have to type (due to limited access to my computer). However, with school and the musical and club duties and stuff, I've had more time to type than I have to write. So now, my typed chapters have caught up with my written chapters. D: I am NOT used to this situation! I'm used to having a chapter written out as my backup, but now, since there are no new chapters, there IS no backup! Plus, my flashdrive broke and I lost the next chapter... I still have the hand-written backup though! :D I just have to type it out... and edit it cuz it SUCKS! :P**

**So, because of my lack of updates and crappy chapters, please feel free to flame me. I kind of need it. ): And if you have any comments on how Yuki is a self-insert, go ahead. I tried not to make her TOO much like me. She's stronger, more confident, and DEFINITELY has a more interesting life than me. And she isn't constantly under the pressure of parents and stuff. :P **

**Okay. I'm done ranting now. Sorry for the hiatus. I'll find time somewhere to write new chapters. -_-#**


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